Things have been taking a major shift in my life. For years I have prayed and pleaded and begged God to “fix me” …and to do whatever He must do to me so that He can do his work through me.

This prayer and this longing was no doubt birthed in me since early childhood, because as long as I can remember words coming from my father’s mouth, I can remember him saying, “There is nothing more important than being in, and doing God’s will. There is no place as miserable as being outside of God’s will. And there is no place as fulfilling as living inside God’s will.” And I watched him every single day prove his words with his actions.

Many times our eyes get set on that ONE THING that we feel is what God wants us to do…and where He wants us to be…and who He wants us to be. So we set out on a very determined course and personal quest to attain “IT.” We spend our days and nights dreaming of how it will feel when we get there, and how amazing it’s going to be when we become “IT.” Running, and hurrying, and rushing, and roaring by the present we go….all in a feverish attempt to reach the future.

Funny thing about the future…it’s always out there. Never here. Always there. So…we never can really arrive.

Then one day He made me lie down in a green pasture. No more running. No more rushing. Here I was in a very present, green pasture. Of course, I didn’t think of is as “green” because as humans do, whatever is forced upon us, we can inevitably find fault in. But as time passed, and the “stiller” I became…the more loud, and distinct, and clear his voice became. No…I’ve never been privileged to hear Him audibly (maybe because He knows I would never live to tell about it). But his voice speaks to me rather in silence. And as my spirit listened, I could feel a major shift taking place.

My eyes are no longer on the things, the accomplishments, the acquisitions, the reputation, nor the ownership of things by which we so often identify ourselves as. I finally realized the futility of the constant striving and struggling for the things that, in time, indeed do perish.

It is after we obtain a “thing” that it proves to be nothing more than a shadow. And when we reach this stage of revelation, we are presented with a life choice…to continue seeking “things” and pursuing shadows, or to begin seeking ALL THINGS from God.

When we decide the latter, that is when our lives shift from personal ambition to divine meaning. And it is in this place of divine meaning, ego is no longer relevant, because the revelation that “with God as my complete focus, I can now make a difference in the world,” is so much more powerful than anything ego could ever offer.

And this is: the great shift.

 Simple. But great.

“Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father who doesn’t change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon.”

James 1:17 GWT (God’s Word Translation)