Recently, Mom and I went to see the movie, “Eat, Pray, Love” with Julia Roberts. After a messy divorce (and an even messier rebound relationship), the main character (Liz) decides to travel the world for a year so she can reconnect with her heart, find out who she was created to be, and what she's to do with her life. She went to Italy, India, and Bali. And each place she traveled to she had to learn the language, the customs, and the culture of the people. It was hard for her to adjust, and she didn't know anyone when she arrived at each of her destinations. But she was desperate for change. Desperate for something to make her feel alive again.
Many of us came to the Lord desperate for change. At the end of our ropes, or broken, or confused, angry and hurt – we come. And just like Liz, we find ourselves in a whole new world. We don't know the language, we don't know the customs, and we're not quite sure where we fit into this new life we've discovered, or even what we've been called to do.
In the movie, there was a scene where Liz was trying to order coffee at an Italian Bistro. Her Italian came out of a book, and she was hesitantly trying to order without much success. The store was slammed with people, and she couldn't be heard over the shouts of the other patrons. Another young woman saw her predicament and immediately offered to help. Asking Liz what she'd like, Delia shouted out their orders in commanding, perfect, Italian. Their friendship was deliciously sealed while noshing on Napoleons and drinking coffee.
When we become believers, God gives us tools to live in our new “country”. He's given us His Holy Spirit as our guide, and He's given us His Word as our map. He's given us the Body of Christ to equip and encourage and build ourselves up until we reach maturity together (Ephesians 4:11-15). He has not left us without resources!
Sometimes we fall back into the same patterns we were in before we came to Christ. And we think because we've changed “cities” - an earthly city for a heavenly one – that things will automatically be different. Liz found that even though she was in a completely different country, her old demons still followed her. She still carried brokenness within her. But certain people came across her path at just the right time to help her look within herself for the healing and peace she so desperately needed. We fail to realize that change comes from the inside out. If you are a child of God, your heart has been completely renewed (1 Corinthians 5:17-19)! It's our minds that need revelation and understanding (Romans 12:2). And like Liz, sometimes to find the beat of our own hearts we have to acquire a completely new perspective.
"I pray for you constantly, asking God, the glorious Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, to give you spiritual wisdom and insight so that you might grow in your knowledge of God. I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called—his holy people who are his rich and glorious inheritance." Ephesians 1:16-18
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