Who's in Control?

They promise them freedom, but they themselves are not free. They are slaves of things that will be destroyed. For people are slaves of anything that controls them. 2 Peter 2:19 (New Century Version)

The words stood out to me like a 4,000 watt neon sign……people are slaves to anything that controls them!!! It is the bottom line truth of any and all addictions. I have known such bondage and been a slave more times than I care to recall or recount. Bondage to relationships, food, attitudes of the heart, mindsets, and even legalism. I can tell when “it” is in control and when I am being controlled. Not good and not fun.

I begin this new year with a fresh realization of what I was enslaved to in 2010. It is not a time of beating myself up but rather of looking once again to the only One willing and able to set me free. In some areas, simply cooperating with Him is life changing in itself. For instance, I have changed my diet to include more protein and that has resulted is a freedom from the pull of opting for high carb foods. My energy level is up as my weight is once again heading down. For me, it was a relatively easy fix, and yet I still see it as cooperating with God.

Other areas are not as easy but every once in a while I gain some insight that previously eluded me. Bondage to a past relationship continues to be a daily issue for me. While I have changed some behavior the heart is still feeling the struggle. A friend recently gave me a nugget of truth I have pondered for the past few days. The desire to hold on to what I need to be freed from will only take place as I choose to embrace something new in my life. In other words, the pull will only weaken and eventually break off as I take a hold of what God is offering to me.

So what hinders me from doing that? The false belief that what I desire to hold on to is better than what God is choosing for me now. That false belief will only be conquered as I once again rest in the truth that His ways are higher than my ways and His thoughts are higher than my thoughts. He knows what is best. He knows what is needed in my life.

I want 2011 to be a year of unprecedented freedom for me. I want to fully embrace God and His plan for me. At the same time, I want to fully celebrate the person He has created me to be. That begins with reviewing who I am in Christ and all He is in me.

Father, may I stop longing for what was and take a hold of what is with all my heart and both my hands! Amen.

You Are Loved - Hope's Call
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VkNUsZzBwi8

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

Knowing the Difference

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:31-32 (New American Standard Bible)

Sometimes I can read a portion of Scripture and walk away thinking I know what it is saying, only to discover later that one aspect completely escaped me. This morning that aspect that is being seen is from the phrase, “know the truth.” To me, it meant the taking in knowledge. To be told something, to read something, to hear something would equate knowing it and would hence lead to freedom. This morning I realized that I was confusing knowing ‘about’ something with knowing it.

I know that knowing about someone is different from actually knowing them and being in relationship with them. Knowing about a certain food is different from actually tasting it. Knowing about an activity is different from knowing it from experience. Cognitive knowledge is not the same as experiential knowledge. It is no different in the spiritual realm.

This is explaining to me why I can spend years searching Scripture, reading books, sitting under wise counsel, and even praying and still live with a sense that areas of my life have not been affected or transformed past the surface. Mindsets, actions, and heart issues remain pretty much unchanged and I am now seeing why. It is not due to a lack of desire or lack of knowledge. It is due to knowing more ’about’ the truth than actually knowing the truth. To understand it, perceive it, feel it, take it to heart, apply it, but most of all to depend on the Spirit of God to get it into the deepest part of me.

I have the ability to change my actions and modify my behavior but that will only be a temporary fix at best. I thank God for individuals who have shared profound truth with me over the years, but because they are simply people and not God, they did not have the ability to get that truth fully into me even though many times that is what I looked for them to do. My heart needs to change and my mind needs to be renewed through God’s Word and by God’s Spirit. Then and only then will I begin to walk in freedom.

Father, I have often looked to people and books to help me change. While they can give me knowledge ONLY You can help me truly know. Free me through the truth as I come to know it not just know about it. Amen.

Ancient Words - Michael W. Smith
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3vmTkXNpwzs

Getting into God's Word and letting God's Word get into me one truth at a time.

In the Classroom of Life

Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul. Psalm 143:8 (New American Standard Bible)

My daughter came to me this morning out of frustration over an area in her life. Things are rubbing her the wrong way with some people in her life and I understand the look and heart of discouragement and confusion that presently mark her path. I listened to her vent and just as my “mama bear” instincts wanted to step in and protect, the Lord brought a question to mind that has produced a red flag on those instincts. It is simply this, “What is it God is trying to teach her at this moment and in this circumstance?” While it is easy for each of us to focus on the circumstances and people in our life, God wants to do a work in us. He wants to teach us the way in which we should walk.

When it comes to my daughter, I can see a number of areas that God might be targeting in her. As an adult she is going to find more and more that many of the lessons will be learned in the difficult and uncomfortable areas of life. It may be patience. It may be gratitude. It may be contentment. It may be a fresh realization that our life is not our own. It may be endurance. It may be faithfulness. Fortunately for me, I do not have to be the one to figure it out for my daughter. That is our Father’s responsibility. As I pray for her and entrust her situation to Him, He will be faithful to reveal to her what it is He is trying to teach her. The rejoicing will come as she allows Him to do that.

It is the same with each of us. The unfair, uncomfortable, and uneasy parts of life are the tools God is using to teach us what we need to learn. They are the classroom whereby God is instilling in us the qualities and characteristics that are meant to be ours as we are daily being conformed to the image of His Son. They are the sandpaper He is using to take off the rough edges in us and part of His workmanship in us.

I know better than to think that God is showing me this truth only for the sake of my daughter. He intends that I see this truth for myself as well. As I go through today, I will be asking myself (many times) “What is God trying to teach me?” As I do that, life will become less about the hard parts of life and more about the lessons He has designed for my walk with Him.

Father, help me to be more aware of what You are doing and what I am to be learning as You do it. My daughter belongs to You and I rejoice in what You will teach her and me! Amen.

Make Me A Servant - Maranatha Singers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rznoe3zKxM&feature=related

I welcome your questions and comments to any devotional thoughts. I am honored and delighted to share my journey with you and privileged to hear of yours.

Receptive to Teaching

And He will teach us His ways, and we will walk in His paths. Micah 4:2 (King James Version)

In order for someone to teach me something I must be receptive and desirous to learn. I have been a student in many classrooms where that was not the case. The reason? The subject matter was not put on a level that I could understand, my mind was on other things, I was physically exhausted, the information given was not important to me at the time, my interest was not peaked, too many distractions, etc...

But I found that if I really liked the teacher I was drawn to the lesson being taught. My thoughts of and relationship to the teacher were the catalyst for my actual learning. What they were saying became important to me.

Likewise I have sat under many speakers. If I failed to connect with them I became bored and distracted. I am sure that what they had to say was useful but I was unreceptive. On the other hand, if I connected with them, I hung on every word, drank in their wisdom, and desired to apply the truth of their message to my life.

My Father desires to teach me His ways so that I am able to walk in His paths. Does He have my attention? Am I hungry to learn all I can from Him? Do I see the importance of what He is teaching me? Is my focus on him?

I am assured that He'll put the lessons on a level I can grasp. He allocates time for me to digest what he is saying. Sometimes it is one on one instruction through His Word and prayer. Other times He uses individuals, songs, books, or situations. I use to think if the lesson came through a chosen source of His, I wasn't really receiving it from Him. I equated spiritual maturity as being attained when God was my ONLY source for instruction. But the Bible speaks of the wisdom found in many counselors. So whether I learn something new about God or the Christian life through God's sources or through God Himself, I can now see that it is still from Him.

Father, may you be my ultimate Teacher! May I always be attentive, receptive, and eager to learn from You…..no matter the route through which You choose to teach me. Amen.