“What
do you mean?” asked the mother
“He’s
just lying there on the floor all flat with nothing in him. Is he dead?” The girl asked
“Oh
no sweetie, That's all he's got...He needs someone inside of him to bring him to life.” The mother explained.
A mom of a preschooler shared this story a few years ago. Her 2 ½ year old daughter had found her
brother’s costume tossed on the floor the day after Halloween. ...so what's my point in sharing this story?...
A while back, my daughter and I were noticing how depleted and worn we felt and there appeared to be no end in sight. Recalling the mom's story, I simply said to her, “Sometimes, it just feels like we’re skin on the floor and that’s about all we’ve got.” With a sideways smile she responded, “Yep…that is about sums it up, mom.” Seasons like that seem to show up in the soul on occasion, leaving us feeling somewhat empty. Those are often the days when we wake up wondering if we have what it takes to do the next 24 hours and hope somehow to find Heaven's breath in us because all of the sudden we are keenly aware that we need something MORE than ourselves inside of us to bring us to life. They are the days that remind us that God is God and we are not.
Sometimes we are just "skin on the floor" and I bet that God prefers
it that way - not because he is cruel or enjoys watching us suffer, but because he knows what it takes for us to finally surrender to his better ways and find the life we are looking for. How else would we ever
notice our total need for Him and openly receive what He has to offer? Trading our life for His (Luke 17:33) isn't all that attractive when things are going along nicely and we feel confident in our own resources. After all, who needs "Heaven's breath" when we are breathing just fine on our own? To the degree that I believe I am competent
is often the degree to which I believe I do not need God. ...Ouch!A while back, my daughter and I were noticing how depleted and worn we felt and there appeared to be no end in sight. Recalling the mom's story, I simply said to her, “Sometimes, it just feels like we’re skin on the floor and that’s about all we’ve got.” With a sideways smile she responded, “Yep…that is about sums it up, mom.” Seasons like that seem to show up in the soul on occasion, leaving us feeling somewhat empty. Those are often the days when we wake up wondering if we have what it takes to do the next 24 hours and hope somehow to find Heaven's breath in us because all of the sudden we are keenly aware that we need something MORE than ourselves inside of us to bring us to life. They are the days that remind us that God is God and we are not.
Coming to the end of our personal (without-God) capacity, postures our heart so we can finally say, “Lord, I need your grace right now, to do what I know I must and to live in the way you have called me to live. My flesh is weak, its worn, and fails often, but your Spirit in me holds heaven’s resources at its fingertips. That is my only hope – it’s what I am banking on! And it is more than enough... it is the promise of Christ! You are Immanuel – God WITH me! Carry me, move me, become my words and act through me. I am skin on the floor, I lay myself down to be fully inhabited by you.”
I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD" Ezekiel 37
Just like that abandoned costume, when we abandon ourselves and become “Skin on the floor” God has all the room He needs to bring us to life. “You’re blessed when you’re at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule." (Matt 5:3) And just like the boy, when God is allowed to “wear” us, His resources become ours and we move and act like him with energy, strength and love we never knew we had.
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ
lives in me. The life I now live in the
body, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for
me. – Gal 2:20
Resonating deeply with feeling like skin on the floor! It has been a week of feeling out of control and just plain spent... and yet...It draws me back to the realization of need. I need my Savior.
ReplyDeleteThe passage that keeps coming up for me as I read this is in Ezekiel 37...the valley of the bones. " I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the LORD"... The bones rattled around and came together and tendons and skin covered them but there was no breath in them so God commanded him to prophesy again..."So I prophesied as He commanded me, and the breath entered them;they came to life and stood up on their feet, a vast army.
Then He said to me: 'Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, 'Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off,' Therefore prophesy and say to them: 'This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel, Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it, declares the LORD."
The God of Israel has spoken...and breathes life into me here and now!
Thank you Michelle for sharing your honest interactions with the Father!
Thank you! This is the passage I was looking for :) God is at work! The more we empty ourselves the more he can work...
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