I know where to Go

I look like Ive got it all together don't I.

    If you've been following along with our daily reading and devotionals through Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus I know it might sound like I have it all together. Or as my GPS Tells me "I have arrived"

I need you to know that I haven't. I dont have it all together. I'm a mess and somedays im a broken hopeless mess that can hardly lift my head. But what I do know is where to go. I have figured that part out. I go to Jesus with my mess. And through it all I'm able to share the loving truths that he is teaching me while we clean up the mess that I am.

And that's it right there. Thats the common thread that connects us, you, me, the People of The Bible, Gods Chosen ones and even our Heroes in the bible. We're all a mess. Even the Heroes. I remember growing up learning about the Heroes of faith and everyone wanted to be David or Elijah. I personally loved Rahab... And some may have even called me a Rahab at one time,( I wasn't sleeping around I promise but kissing boys in Bible College felt like that ) but only because I was boy crazy and liked to kiss, thats a story for another day....But even the Heroes of the bible were broken messes that were redeemed by a loving father. And yes we are learning sometimes the Fathers love looks like discipline and it can feel harsh or overwhelming but its because he loves us and wants the best for us. He's guiding us and teaching us how to live just has he did with the Children of Israel over and over and over again. Anyone else need that guidance over and over again? I'm sure I have needed a few more over agains than that...

I know what it's like to be around leaders that have it all together. They flaunted their togetherness and held it over my head..and then i saw them fall and their mess revealed and it wasn't pretty..I figure let's reveal my mess now and we'll figure all of our messes out together. And the one thing I really loved in Leviticus so far is that the Priests were not perfect either, the leaders were not infallible. Nobody was, but they knew how to consecrate themselves and purify their hearts to make it right and come before A Holy God. They taught the people how to do it as instructed by God and they were the examples of what to do.

   And with that knowledge and understanding today Leviticus chapters 14 and 15 came alive in a whole new way. We go from feeling dirty and unclean and feeling exposed to knowing the process of becoming clean.

    Because 14 and 15 aren't just about physical conditions. They're about what happens when something shows up that you didn't ask for. Something that marks you. Something that separates you. Something that makes you feel exposed.

There was a process. There was sacrifice. There was examination. There was time. Restoration wasn't instant. Even someone that had been healed and made whole needed to be examined and purified. And that part makes so much make since. Especially in my own life. 

     I know that I am healed, I have been made whole. But I lately I have been asking God why do I still feel so unclea . Why does it feel like im still going through this process and still feel not good enough...And I realized this morning that is just another part of the process. He's cleaning what was left. The mold and the mildew in the house left over from what used to be there. My spirit needs to be wiped clean of all the debris left behind. It's part of the process.

    Leviticus 14 and 15 shows us that when something in us is off, when wr feel unclean, exposed, emotionally raw, spiritually drained, there is a pathway back to wholeness. There is a washing. There is consecration. There is restoration.

Not shame.

Not exile forever.

Not "you're disqualified."

We are all messy.

We are all in the process.

We all need guidance more than once. (Okay, more than once a day.)

But we also all have access.

Access to a Holy God who made a way not just for priests, not just for leaders, not just for the "together" ones but for the messy ones.

For me.

For you.

So no, I haven't arrived.

But I know where to go.

Love Pastor Mandy

Ark of Hope Ministry 

Daily reading Leviticus 14-15