Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you! - Isaiah 60:1 (Amplified Bible)
Have you ever allowed your workplace circumstances to cause you to grow weary? Perhaps life’s circumstances have brought a heaviness upon you and weighed you down to the point that you found your workdays to be a chore. Perhaps depression has even come upon you. Where did the joy go?
The dictionary defines circumstances as “factors beyond willful control.” In other words, if we had a choice, we wouldn’t choose them. We simply wouldn’t want to deal with them.
All of us journey through winter seasons in our lives and in our careers. I recall one such season in my own life. Although I was moving forward in God’s plan, it seemed that each step was like plowing hard ground. And although I still had the joy of the Lord within me, I could feel my patience being stretched daily, wondering, “When will this season end? Why does everything feel so hard?”
Then something amazing happened. God woke me up very early one morning about 3 o'clock. I rose from my bed and felt led to stand in front of our dining room window. My heart felt heavy. Even so, I put on a praise CD, and I began to quietly sing praises unto God. Then I asked Him what He wanted to show me.
As I looked out onto our backyard, I saw an expanse of tall weeds near the perimeter. Oh how I hated those ugly weeds! The sight of them caused me to weep out of frustration because they were a reminder of the heavy circumstances in my life that seemed to not disappear.
Seeking refuge, I gazed up at the star-lit sky for a moment. But I was quickly distracted by those weeds. My eyes lowered once again to see them before returning back up to the stars. This time, I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to look out at those weeds anymore.
As I focused on the heavens above me, I could feel my desire to reach up to God increase. After about 20 minutes of singing praises and seeking Him, I pressed my cheek flat against a window pane so that I could see more sky overhead. When I did this, I saw the brightest star of all. It was straight overhead, and I would’ve missed it if I hadn’t pressed in and set my eyes vertically.
In that moment, God spoke to me in a revelation. I gasped in awe, and I began to weep again. Then, suddenly, a falling star shot down from that perfect early morning sky, right into the weed patch. In this moment, God spoke to me again, “I’m singeing your weeds.” I dropped to my knees in total, humble awe, and my spirit rejoiced in the Lord.
What’s more, the CD that I had been listening to was Nicole Nordeman’s Woven & Spun. The song that played when God showed me the brightest star and the falling star was “My Offering.” The chorus that played the moment my eyes first saw the brightest star was, “Open up the heavens, open up the skies . . . “ And the moment the star fell, the song neared its end with a crescendo playing, “and the stars every evening are all standing by to light the sky . . . “
Indeed, the God who placed the stars in the sky and knows them by name, the God who cares about every detail of our lives, chose a creative way to remind me to keep my eyes on Him and not look to circumstances, no matter how difficult they seem. Indeed, His word is true: Nothing is more powerful than the God who created the universe. There is joy in the morning, and our circumstances must bow to the name of Jesus.
What circumstances in your life are causing you heaviness? Ask the Father in heaven to help you keep your eyes fixed on Him. Then cast them into the sea, and rejoice.
