Suddenly, God...

Suddenly, God...

Promises of a bright and shining future that's what you were told

How well you remember those prophecies so long ago

Those nuggets of hope that turned your life around

They spoke of a new you, one you could hardly imagine

They kept you going when everything looked bleak

Your knuckles turned white from holding onto them so tightly

But over time you wondered if those prophecies were true

They hadn't happened yet, were they really for you?

Did the prophet hear correctly, did they really hear from God?

It's been so long now, you wonder if it was really Him

Unbelief tried to creep in, why was it taking so long

But His Word says that 'all of God's promises are yes and amen'

It feels like you've been in a holding pattern for most of your life

You've tried to do everything just right to help bring your prophecy to pass

But as you wait He refines and molds and changes you

He conforms you more into His likeness and develops your character

It's not because you didn't measure up or didn't perform perfectly

That God has not allowed your prophecy to happen

Your waiting is such a sweet perfume, such a holy sacrifice to Him

Because His plans for your life are larger than you could possibly imagine

As you realize your promises are not earned by inherited

As you rest and relax in His waiting arms

His love envelops and crushes and transforms you

Preparing you for the great changes He has designed specifically for you

Suddenly, God shines His loving light into your darkness

Suddenly, God makes a way in the wilderness

Suddenly, God turns your mourning into dancing

Suddenly, God makes the crooked way straight

Suddenly, God creates opportunities out of nowhere

Suddenly, God makes the impossible possible

Suddenly, God opens up doors that no man can close

Suddenly, God makes your prophecy reality

Suddenly, God...

Fellow Sojourners,

I wrote this poem back in 1997 or 1998. This past weekend, Gary discovered it mixed in with our financial records from those years that had been kept in one of our storage sheds. In those days, if I didn't know what to do with something it would just wind up with the mountainous pile of financial records, which is how it wound up in the shed. During this time in my life, I felt frustrated and confused. I had several prophecies made over my life and none of them were coming to pass. They all appeared to be for the future but I needed something for the now. What's interesting is the reaction I had to finding and reading this poem. I immediately was taken back to that moment in time, remembering how frustrated and confused and depressed I felt. I didn't understand why I felt this way, only that I did. But what I now realize was the fact that I had been on a journey but didn't know it. In re-reading the poem, I can honestly say that everything up until the "suddenly, God" parts were true and still are. Well, except for the line about His plans for your life being larger than you could possibly imagine. They're still true but in a different way. Back then, everybody was going to have a big-name ministry, everyone would become famous, everyone's path was going to be successful and larger-than-life. That may happen to some people but it's not a guarantee that it will happen. I thought that I would get to talk to thousands of people in a large stadium or auditorium. And who knows, that could happen. But the people the Lord has me talk to these days are those in the grocery store or at fast-food restaurants. And it's usually on a one-to-one basis, not crowds. He has given me these people to pray over, encourage and in the process, change their lives. And in that way, His plans are larger than I could possibly imagine. It's just not what I expected. Or the line that talks about how my promises are not earned but inherited. Inherited to me meant family-of-origin and the anointing that is over a family. And while that is true, I've been discovering that my real inheritance is found in Christ and in Christ alone. But back to the suddenly God stuff. When I read the parts about what God suddenly does in our lives it made me feel religious. The way I was raised, and I'm sure how others were raised as well, was that if something looked bleak or sad you simply rehearsed your victories of what God had done in your life. It was almost a mantra, like if you said it enough times, it would actually come to pass. It made me feel like I had fallen back into a religious-spirit way of thinking. But on the other hand, reminding myself of the greatness of God and how He can turn any situation around in a moment can really help get you through difficult times. So in a way I felt a bit schizophrenic in my thinking. But then I thought about David and how he would pour out his heart to the Father and tell Him how afraid or how sad or how disappointed he was with the road life had taken him on. But after telling Father God about the pain he was in and how depressed he was, he always ended by saying, "But in this I have hope". He would then detail the attributes of God and remind himself how much God loved him and how concerned God was for his welfare. He would encourage himself in the Lord. And so I realized that what I had written so many years ago was a psalm, like David did. It rings just as true today as it did back then. But hopefully with a bit more understanding. I hope that this has had meaning for you and has encouraged you as you travel along on your own personal journey.

With love and blessing,

Deborah Reis