Our devotional series is a collection of writings from members of Liberty Church. This piece was written by Emily Kirkendoll.

Last Sunday, Paul had an important announcement for everyone. While I suspect he may have been speaking metaphorically, the exciting-or at least baffling-news is that you’re pregnant. I gather that he was not going on a lot of personal information but rather taking an intimate look at the story of the angel announcing Jesus’ birth to Mary in Luke 1:26-38. This story is the beginning of Christianity and has something to say to every person within the reach of the gospel, pregnant or not.

Mary’s reaction to the news is so important for gaining perspective on our partnership with God and for allowing our dreams to develop and grow. In the face of the impossible task ahead of her, in the face of her seeming inadequacies and unsuitability for the role, in the face of a very terrifying angel, Mary understands her calling and her favor, her need for the Holy Spirit and her duty to surrender to God’s process.

Putting ourselves in Mary’s position is difficult. Scratch that. It is literally impossible. But it is helpful to take the same posture that she did while walking out God’s purpose in our own lives. So, I would like to provide three services to help you apply Mary’s winning formula to your life: a pregnancy test, a prenatal checkup, and a labor coach.

Like a pregnancy test, we should ask ourselves: Am I pregnant? Is there a seminal idea floating around in my mind, pestering me in my busiest moments, perhaps feeling so ubiquitous that other people are able to see it in me when I have dismissed it as too obvious to express? What does God want to birth in me?

Prenatal checkups help us to determine the growth stages of pregnancy. Likewise, we should ask ourselves how we are measuring in the stages of our vision and purpose?

I recently told a friend about a dream I had that I knew had been put on hold, and she encouraged me to ask God about it. Even as Mary accepted God’s plan with all its vagueness and strangeness, there was no harm in her asking to be filled in. In a way, she balanced her faith with involvement—not demanding detailed directions before she chose to act but honestly questioning, “How will this play out?” Spend time today asking God where you are, looking back at where you’ve come from already, and choosing his guidance for your next steps.

When it’s time, push! That’s what labor coaches will tell you. Man, could the timing of Jesus’ birth been more inconvenient? The pregnancy was foretold before she even conceived and Mary didn’t have a single benefit of all that preparedness at the time of the labor. Wouldn’t most of us take the kinds of obstacles she faced as signals to abandon our plans? I encourage you to push through (James 5:7,10; Galatians 6:9).

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank you for the revelation that I have been chosen like Mary to birth a purpose greater than myself. Even if I can’t see it or have grown impatient for the timing of it, please help me to surrender to your will. Let me be like Mary and partner with you in the process, the place where dreams develop and grow. Help me to take the same posture as Mary and say to you, “I am your servant, Lord, may your word to me be fulfilled”. May I recognize daily my need of the Holy Spirit to do the impossible tasks set before me despite my weaknesses and flaws. I will not look back but choose to move forward this day because You love me and have called me your own. Amen!

Our devotional series is a collection of writings from members of Liberty Church. This piece was written by Emily Kirkendoll.

Somewhere in my apartment building, a shrieking lady lives with her, I presume, teenage-ish shrieking daughter. They like to shriek at each other, periodically. I’m not sure what she looks like or which apartment she lives in, but I imagine she could light a candle by breathing on it, and this fascinates me. I begin to wonder a few things: Does she realize how unhinged she sounds? Is all this noise really working for them? And, as a matter of curiosity, how does my voice sound from their apartment?

During a thunderstorm this week, I happened to be reading Psalm 29: “The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord thunders over the mighty waters. The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic. The voice of the Lord breaks cedars…twists oaks…”, etc.

So I Googled “what causes thunder”—not that I didn’t already know. I found a Scientific American article that explained how the electrons from the cloud heat the air molecules to three times the temperature of the sun creating a vacuum…C’mon. Don’t Google it right now. So rude.

The article wraps up by stating, very scientifically, that this awe-inspiring force of nature reminds us of our insignificance. Really? Is that the point? And is that what the Psalm is saying? Is God throwing a tantrum just to make us feel powerless? Is the voice of the Lord like the voice of the Shrieking Lady trying desperately to gain control by making us feel small?

I was reminded of another mom at Liberty. We had been commiserating about our kids’ growing independence and how fearful it made us that we couldn’t always protect them or control their actions as they went out into the world. As I was remembering our conversation and praying for her, I imagined her speaking in a strong voice. I heard her speaking over her children as they left for school with foresight and wisdom, reminding them of their spiritual identities. She was not screaming, but her voice was carrying over the distances and throughout the day. Her kids were not intimidated by bullies or led astray by peer pressure or shamed by teachers or corrupted by strangers…not because she was able to control them by screaming and lecturing them, but because she was able to lead them by speaking truth over them to guide them in the challenges they would face.

I think this is actually closer to the freedom God has entrusted us with. His voice is powerful because it speaks truth on a level above our circumstances, not because it is loud or booming or scary. It’s not meant to drown us out or intimidate us either. His voice reminds us of who we are in Him and guides us throughout our day. In fact, in Psalm 29 God’s thundering over the water elicits a response and blessing for God’s people.

So whose voice is in my head right now? What is it speaking to me? Is it truth? Is it leading me forward in peace and joy? (Think about Isaiah 55:9-13) And how does my voice carry into other apartments? I’m not one for a lot of volume, but am I using derision, sarcasm, gossip, pessimism, or even deliberate lying to get my way? (Read Luke 12:2-3)

Prayer: Lord God, help me to discern your voice above the roar of the media, my own thoughts that cause a division in my heart, and any outside forces that try to drown you out. Help me to cultivate a listening ear, that hears you throughout my day, covering me with your love, grace, patience, wisdom, protection and strength. May I not be bullied by the challenges of life but rest in your sovereign assurance that my identity, hope and future are solidified in who You say I am and what You say I am called to do. Help me to watch the words that come from my own mouth, which speaks life or death, so that I am speaking life into every situation and about every person whether they are friend or foe. Amen!

Our devotional series is a collection of writings from members of Liberty Church. This piece was written by Emily Kirkendoll.

At the beginning of March, Paul Andrew delivered a two-part message called “Living on Purpose.” He emphasized the importance of having a vision like Joseph, who faithfully aligned himself to his purpose at every unpredictable turn. Though Joseph had an impression that greatness was in his future, he didn’t know why, how, or when it would be fulfilled. Likewise Saul, when he was persecuting Christians, thought he was living out his calling, but his zeal was misplaced. He knew the what but not the why of his calling. Eventually Jesus stopped him and reversed his course to advance the very church Saul had been trying to destroy. Saul’s conversion is famously dramatic, but it wasn’t immediate. First, he was blinded so that he couldn’t continue on his course. Then Jesus sent Ananias to meet Saul on Straight Street (you know, where you go to straighten things out), restore his sight, and baptize him into his new faith and mission (Acts 9:1-22).

How do you respond when it seems that God is blocking you from your goals? With bitterness, anxiety, or feeling out of control? Or with trust toward his promise and his process? (Read Proverbs 3:5-6, 11-12)

Before I became a parent I thought a timeout was a convenient incarceration for bad kids you didn’t want to deal with. When I started using timeouts with my son, I still saw them as punishment—controlling his bad behavior. I’ve come to realize a timeout is a positive way of turning an emotional breakdown into a teachable moment. In a timeout, you take the child to a quiet place away from whatever is setting them off and, for a set period of time, they cool off so they can receive the lesson and learn how to achieve their goals the right way. When time is up, the parent will kneel down to ask the child, “Do you know why you are in timeout?” Perfect. In real life, the kid goes berserk, screaming and throwing things in anger, because their immediate goals are blocked and the parent they trusted is the bad guy.

I think I’ve been in a timeout. It’s been several years, but initially when my plans were interrupted, I felt angry and fearful. I was bewildered about my purpose in life and shaken in my trust toward God. Now it’s becoming clearer that I was not as on track as I thought. I was in a career where I was succeeding but that influenced a cynical attitude in me, in which I was actually killing other people’s dreams, while simultaneously paralyzing the use of my talents.

Do you know why you are in timeout? If you’re struggling to identify your purpose in a large sense, what immediate course correction may God be leading you towards?

Later, Paul is on trial before the high priest and retells the story of his conversion. At the most crucial time, Paul recalls what Ananias spoke over him at the end of his timeout: “The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth. You will be his witness to all people of what you have seen and heard” (Acts 22:14-15).

If you are stuck or at a crossroads, what promises or dreams has God given you in your past that can guide you now? (Read Jeremiah 29:10-13. Yikes, Babylonian exile. I hope I’m never in that much trouble.)

Prayer: Lord God, help me submit to the process of realigning my values, my identity and my purpose in who you are and your will for my life. Help me to respond well, not in anger, bitterness, anxiety, doubt or frustration. Help me to let go of control. Help me to trust you and your promises, not leaning on my own understanding, but allowing your Spirit to move and guide me to live a life on purpose. Help me to live a life that brings you glory in every sense. Amen!