Upgrades and restoration

Upgrades and restoration

Kathleen Maxwell-Rambie

copyright June 2018

I love God’s heart for us. He is always leading us to reach our fullest potential. The big question, is will we follow his lead or resist where He is taking us?

Sometimes, He leads us back to a place we might not want to go, but I have found, He takes us back, because He wants to give us an upgrade.

I have seen this in several areas of my life, and I have had to take a deep breath and follow. 

Years ago, I was working in a  west Texas town. One of my assignments was to do a fundraising event. Several of my coworkers in the city I was working in, were relatively new to the company we were working for and the company was in a lot of transition. This made the task difficult and some of my coworkers were hard to work with. There were many challenges along the way in order for me to accomplish my assignment and let’s just say, it took every bit of Jesus in me to pull the event together. The event went well but not without a lot of sweat and tears.

As I drove out of that community exhausted, I whispered a prayer, “God, thank you for your grace and kindness in helping me with this event, give me safe travels home, and God, I don’t really care to ever come back to this city.” 

I love that we can pour out our hearts to God and He meets us right where we are. I was being gut level honest, and I verbalized it to the God that loved me and helped me.

Several years passed and one day I was asked if I could quickly pack and head back to this town. I was needed to help pull off another event that was the next day! I love helping people, especially in crisis situations, and I said yes before I even had a chance to think.

I was about half way to my destination and I remembered what I had said the last time I left. Suddenly, I was overwhelmed and said, “What on earth am I doing?” It was too late, I was committed.

I began to pray and ask God for wisdom, strength and help. Then I  told the overwhelming feelings to go away. I knew they were not from God. 

I felt God say to me, “One woman walking with God can do great things.”

I also heard him say, “Kathleen, I’m taking you back at a much higher level, leading you to triumph and I am upgrading you.” Peace settled over my heart. I knew God was in this and I had to trust him.

I remembered 2 Corinthians 2:14, which tells us, “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us spreads and makes evident everywhere the sweet fragrance of the knowledge of Him.” (AMP)

When we know Jesus, Christ is in us. We can tap into the power of Christ in us and God leads us. We have a choice to take his hand and follow and he always leads us to triumph, or to a better place. He is a God of relationship and loves for us to partner with him and help conform us to his image.

people attending event

I arrived in the afternoon and worked with the staff.  I hit the ground running and somehow had plenty of strength and made quick decisions There were new people there this time and they were very helpful and grateful I was there.  I gathered the staff together and prayed with them, modeling my dependency on God and I worked until late that night. 

Isaiah 58:12 says, “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.”

God loves to restore things. It is part of who is is. He gives us new life, forgiveness and will lead us to better places. Our job is to run to him, follow him, and trust him. He is a God of restoration and redemption and he cares about every detail of our lives.

Walking with God on a daily basis is one of the best blessings I have discovered and I pray you too will discover more of His love, passion for you, desire to bless you. If there some area in your life that needs an upgrade, run to him.  He cares about your job, your family, your dreams and every detail of your life. And he loves you and loves to restore.

Kathleen is a native of the Hill Country and is a writer and speaker. She is passionate about helping people discover their value and worth. Contact her at kathleenmaxwell1@gmail.com or visit her blog on www.themaxwellminutes.blogspot.com