Closer To Me

Lord…..why? Just tell me why?
You’re being stretched…
Nothing makes sense anymore. I push and You push back!
You’re being stretched…
God, I feel like I am beating a dead horse. I’ve been beating this dead horse for so long. Just give me something new, Lord.
You’re being stretched…
God, everywhere I go, I am being drained. I am living for You more than I ever have, and yet find myself sometimes in such a state of fatigue.
You’re being stretched…
Lord, I can do more…so much more! I could show You if You would just move me from THIS place. Why do You still have me here? There’s nothing else I can do!
You’re being stretched…
Lord, why is it so hard? Communing with the body shouldn’t be this hard. Explaining to others that God loves them shouldn’t be this hard. Shaking off negativity and discouragement shouldn’t be this hard.
You’re being stretched…
What’s the point of it all? Submission is what You want. I am giving this walk all the energy I have. I am pushing through pain that is only growing stronger. I am enduring the process only because I love You and You desire that I be patient…..but Lord, sometimes the sight of relief grows smaller with every passing second of discomfort. And I am embarrassed to admit to You, my Father, that my sight has slightly penetrated my faith…..and I don’t even know what to pray for anymore….

You are being stretched. Where you are going, what and who I have created you to be requires that you be stretched. If I send you now, if I move you now, if I expose your calling prematurely, you will not be ready or able to handle the weight of what is coming. You have been stretched before. You know very well what it has felt like when I stretched you in the past. And you would not be as strong and prepared as you are today had I decided to let you be then. You are only being stretched because I know you. And I know the extent of your capabilities.

I know you feel useless at times. I know you get easily discouraged. I know better than anyone else that you feel overwhelmed beyond explanation. You are constantly moving because you feel that immobility equates to inadequacy. You fight because the people around you are not always able to. You hold it together and frequently forget yourself because you want to be the medicine for others that you wished you had long ago. And you feel silly to come to Me with these things because of How much I’ve already done for you and how frustrated You think I am with you. But I know you. And I love you. I hear all your cries. I am listening to all your concerns. This time is not a result of me ignoring you. I will NEVER forsake you…..you are being STRETCHED. No eye hath seen, no ear hath heard, no mind hath conceived…..how much more I have for you.

This is not in vain. This is necessary. I am making more room inside of you for my spirit to dwell. Be stretched. I am your confirmation that greater is coming. I am your point.