Paradigm Shift- “Christ in you the Hope of Glory”
Merry Monday by Parris Bailey
“To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Col.1:27
Having a “Holy Discontent”-
Last Friday we had our women’s “one day retreat”. This year the theme was based on “The Wizard of Oz”. The women pastors had been meeting for weeks discussing the food, decorations, costumes and, most of all, praying that the Holy Spirit would show up. To put more heat on that day, I had all of the women pastors meet at a house on the river the day before so we could just pray, try to focus and fast. Our preparations paid off, the north shore was filled with women hungry for the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of life filled the air. God was among us and we will never be the same.
While studying about Dorothy, I found out her name means “gift of God”, I am glad Dorothly blew out of Kansas. Her world needed to get much bigger than Auntie Em and Uncle Henry. She needed a paradigm shift. A paradigm shift is a change from one way of thinking to another, it’s a revolution, a transformation, a sort of metamorphosis. It just does not happen, but rather it is driven by agents of change. She was having a “Holy Discontent”. I respect the fact that she went looking for the Emerald City, that beats sitting around Kansas and staying the same. God brings each of us to a place where we begin to itch, I call it the “Holy Discontent”.
In Dorothy’s case, a tornado blew in, not just in the physical, but also people all around her were rocking her world. It appears that she not only lost her parents, but she was also getting ready to lose her one and only constant companion, Toto. Dorothy was having a revolution, a transformation, a metamorphosis that was brought about by agents of change. I pray that you too can join in the revolution.
While we all shared at the retreat, I began to see each of us going through the same transformation- a pardigm shift, so to speak, throughout the day. I saw the Marysong girls step up and sing, share, serve and worship like they had never done before. They too have had a change in their lives that caused a shifting. Then I watched the women pastors preach their sermons with annointing and boldness. I know firsthand that God had visited them in their brokeness and heartbreak. Instead of holding on to all of their Totos and their Auntie Ems in life, they too “have been looking for a city whose builder and maker is God”.
C. S. Lewis said, “We may ignore, but we can’t evade the presence of God. The world is crowded with Him. He walks everywhere incognito.” How about you? Are you still hung up with Kansas and Toto? Still looking around to see if the Witch will come and tear out all your stuffing? Or are you like the Tin man who got all rusted out because of offenses. (He didn’t treasure the anointing within him!) Last of all the lion, he always had a excuse why he couldn’t be a lion (we refuse to put on Christ!)
I pray that you will have a “HOLY DISCONTENT, a PARADIGM SHIFT! That you have an explosive power of new affection swelling up within you! Christ in you the hope of glory! No, Dorothy we are not in Kansas anymore!