Why am I focusing on crushing kingdoms this month? It’s sort of an odd turn of phrase, I know. Here’s a little back story to fill in the gaps:
A friend with a small handful of young ones recently reached out to me asking for prayer and declaring she was going to lose it. After a few questions to clarify what the issue was, she shared this: “The house is clean. Dinner is done. Bathroom’s done. Laundry done. – The kids are not done.”
Yikes. I get that. Do you get that? There are times when surface things are running smoothly and it appears that everything is in place, but the reality is we’re falling apart. My friend continued, “My problem — I try everyday to build my own kingdom. We have a schedule, a plan, chores, worksheets, field trips planned. Then things don’t work out like I wanted to and I just get so frustrated. I don’t know any other way. How do I crush my kingdom? What does letting God build the kingdom look like?”
This and the ensuing conversation has stayed with me since that day. While I’ve been praying for my friend, I’ve also been mulling over my own kingdoms and what must happen to crush them and let God build the kingdom. This is what I hope to walk through this month.
I don’t know how to fix things. I only know a God who fixes. He is Healer. At times, he has to (figuratively) break bones in order to reset them properly.
Sometimes there’s not a pretty wrap up and moral to the story. Sometimes we have to sit in the hard places for a while. This is one of those times. Reflect on your own kingdoms and what must happen to let God crush them and build His kingdom.
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. James 1:2-4
Click here to read Day 4: Counting Blessings & Revealing Messes.
Move forward to read Day 6: Stop building on sand.
Catch the whole series indexed here.
