Getting Out of the Way

“O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?” says the LORD. “Look, as the clay is in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel!” Jeremiah 18:6 (New King James Version)

I have often enjoyed watching the program CLEAN HOUSE. The idea is for the designers to come into a house that is a complete mess, sell as many items as they can in a garage sale, use the money to help finance a house make-over, clean the house, and present the home owners with an unbelievable improvement. I have watched as people get their first view of what has been done. Mouths drop open, tears fall, and gratitude is abundant. But sad to say, there are actually people who get in the way and limit what the designers want to do. They have a hard time giving up anything and once they finally allow things to be put up for sale they are out there reclaiming the items. They had two problems. They resisted change and they didn’t trust the designers. In the end the designers are not always able to do all that they had wanted to do.

It has not taken much for God to show me the similarities between these people and myself in a spiritual realm. I, too, have resisted change, reclaimed things I once yielded, and found myself blocking the Designer of my life. I say I want to be transformed. I say I want God to have His way in my life. I say I want Him to do what is for His glory and my good. But when it comes down to the actual process I see myself resisting His work. Like the people on CLEAN HOUSE, I often resist change and lack trust in the Designer. This revelation has woken me up!

I don’t want to get to the end of my life and realize God had so much more to do in me and through me than I allowed. And I don’t want my time here on earth to be spent embracing the very things He wants to replace. His ways are higher than my ways. His plans are better than my plans. He understands my tears and my fears and with each He simply says, “Trust Me. Cooperate with Me. Yield to Me.” Whatever or whomever He chooses to remove from my life, He removes with nail scarred hands and a love filled heart. His exchanges are NEVER a down scale interaction. They are always an improvement!

So this morning, I once again take His hand and choose to embrace His grace rather than my pain. His freedom rather than my fear. His joy rather than my sorrow. He never said it would be easy but He did say it would be worth it! I am ready to get out of the way as He works to woo me to Himself and make me like Himself.

Father, You know me better than anyone else does. I am finally ready to trust You with abandon. Have Your way and will in my life. Amen.

A Banner to Wave

To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy. Jude 24 (New International Version)

Many have been the times I have looked at my Christian life and wondered if I was doing anything right. The enemy would parade my failures and poor choices in front of me and the procession who bring about shame, condemnation, and guilt. He had me convinced much of my growth and journey rested on my shoulders and I had to somehow muster up the energy to keep pace with demands and requirements. It was like wearing cinder blocks on my feet and lead chains on my spirit. Burdensome, hard, and nearly impossible were the slogans that greeted me along the way. But the twenty-fourth verse of Jude makes a clean sweep of that way of thinking!

This morning I once again take in God’s involvement in my life and the end result of His involvement. He has the capability, strength, and willingness to keep me established in my faith. He is like a father who has a firm grip on a toddler’s hand and keeps him upright and moving forward. His eye is on every move I make! As I was reminded earlier this week, we are each ordinary people who serve an extraordinary God! He invites us to take His yoke upon us and He will carry the vast majority of the weight. Even though I am aware of the necessity for me to cooperate with Him and walk in obedience to Him, He is the one infusing me with the power to do so. It rests on Him and He takes that very seriously!

But I am also aware of the end of the story. I do not have to fear standing before Him one day and wonder how I will be viewed and accepted. Because of His work in me, I will stand before Him without reproach, fault, blemish, or blame and while I do so, He and I will both have extreme joy over it! He will be the reason for the celebration and exultation! His grace, His mercy, and His transforming work will be the basis for my stability and my stand.

So the next time the enemy of my soul invites me to his distorted parade, Jude 24 will be my banner of triumph to wave and my sword to wield. His view and his interpretation are no match for that of my Father! The same is true for any who know Him as Savior. Christ longs for us to finally see the truth and to embrace it!

Father, Your Word is what I hold up today as my shield and my sword. May I remind myself and the enemy of what You say about my life in You. Amen.

The Results of Practice

But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil. Hebrews 5:14 (New American Standard Bible)

Our actions and words are driven by our thoughts and intentions of our heart. Change the thoughts and you change the actions. That is what Romans 12:2 means when it says, “Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” And Philippians 4:8 gives us a list of what our thoughts should be directed toward: whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of a good report, and praiseworthy. Those words should not only describe our thoughts, they should also describe our words and actions.

So how does one go from thinking, saying, and doing the wrong things, to thinking, saying, and doing the right things? Practice! If I want to become good at discerning between good and evil, I must put into use the right choices on a daily basis. Each time I act upon what I know to be true and think upon what I know to be right, I sharpen my senses for discernment and sound judgment. If God is going to change my life it will be through the reformation of my mind. But it is imperative that I take the things He is showing me and I put them into practice as the opportunities arise. This will not happen by accident. It must be purposeful, determined living. My will and thinking must give way to His Spirit and His truth.

Old ways of thinking will only lose their hold on me as I choose to release them. Often that is easier said than done. I find there are times I will readily take in truth but releasing what has been comfortable or familiar to me is what is difficult. Change is forthcoming when the results of my way of thinking are no longer enjoyable. As Anais Nier so aptly stated, “And then the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” My blossoming happens every time I allow God to expose the lies I have come to believe and then choose to replace them with the truth. It is a necessary process I go through EVERY time my feelings, emotions, and thoughts become skewed. Any more, when I have a negative response to something that is said or done to me, I automatically start searching for the lie and then the truth. That practice is maturing me in my walk of faith. Because it has taken me so long to learn this and because it is still so new to me, I marvel each time it works! The freedom astounds me and the change moves me to a deeper appreciation for the work of God in my life. The doubts I once had as to whether or not this could work for me have been replaced by tested experience! I praise Him!

Father, guide me through the steps of sound practice and good choices today. I know the results will be powerful as I cooperate fully with You. Amen.

Back on Track

Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:5 (New American Standard Bible)

I have a passion for God and sometimes that passion can head me off in some wrong directions. There are certain things I long for God to do in my life and in my eagerness to see Him work I can easily take matters into my own hands and find myself on a trail of my own making. Without a continual looking to Him and a patient, expectant waiting on Him, I can simply get off balanced and off track. I can even divert my attention from His leading and teaching to that of others.

How do I know when this has happened? My stability gets shaky, my joy diminishes, my energy wanes, confusion sets in, and I begin to feel lost. A heaviness affects my walk and my heart. When any of these things begin to mark my day I know something is amiss and before long I am in search of an answer. God is gracious to give me the answer as soon as I direct my attention and my questions toward Him. Such was the case yesterday.

I recently became aware of the personal effects that stem from being brought up in a home with alcoholism. I didn’t realize that there are similar characteristics for those who shared a parallel background. There is even a name for it……Adult Children of Alcoholics. They have books. They have meetings. They have information. As I began to make some connections between my thought processes and actions as an adult with the events of my childhood, I plunged into a river of information. The trouble was that it was too much too fast and what should have been a helpful tool became an overload on my emotions as well as my spirit.

God’s solution? Set it all aside for now and return to the truths of Scripture. While God can certainly use the books, meetings, and experiences of others to help me understand myself better, He wants me to know that ultimately the healing and wholeness will come from Him. So yesterday I began re-reading a book by Neil Anderson called Who I Am In Christ and last night I went for a walk and immersed myself in some life-giving music. I can already sense a return to ‘normal’ as I once again look to God to lead me and teach me. I wouldn’t want it any other way!

Father, keep drawing me back to Yourself every time I walk a path that is not of You. I want deep healing that comes from You rather than one I attempt through self effort. I wait, watch, and rest. Amen.

It's a Choice

Let us discern for ourselves what is right; let us learn together what is good. Job 34:4 (New International Version)

If I had to put my most recent God-taught lesson into one simple phrase it would be this, “I have a choice.” I have recently experienced the rewards, benefits, healing, and blessing of making right choices and I have many memories of the painful consequences that are forthcoming when I make the wrong choices. The truth of the matter is that for years I was blind to the options. While some people have faltered in the area of morality, responsibility, addictions, or legal issues, my struggle has been with emotions and feelings. What has ruled me for so many years is becoming a targeted area for freedom by my Abba Father.

While there are numerous examples I could give, my attention is being drawn to one this morning. God is revealing to me my tendency to follow patterns of thought and behavior….particularly when it comes to disappointment. It is in times when people are not able to give me what I want or plans have been interrupted or changed that certain feelings surface. Up until recently I wasn’t sure what to do with the feelings. While I would condemn myself for having them I quickly chose to simply bury them and go into a withdrawal mode. Relationships would suffer as I curled up into a ball of hurt, anger, and pity. My focus was off and as a result I was imprisoned in a damaging cycle of emotions. Praise God that is not the end of the story!

After months of a friend’s counsel and input, I decided to test a truth she had shared with me. I decided to accept the fact that the problem was not in what was happening but rather in my interpretation and resulting feelings. “What am I feeling at this moment” became my soul searching question. Events and situations are usually triggering emotions from painful memories. As I allow God to help me identify the feelings and we work together to go back to the early introductions of those feelings, I am then able to release them to Him and stop the cycle I have become accustomed to living out. I have stood open mouthed with amazement that I have this option and that it works! I have seen the power in this process and experienced freedom beyond my wildest imaginations.

I have crossed a bridge of choice and proceed to burn that bridge behind me as a way of not returning to an old way of living. My emotions and feelings have ruled and fooled me for far too many years. Choice and truth are what God is using to set me free and I am embracing them both!

Father, I marvel that I went so long unaware of choice. But I marvel even more at the freedom that is coming through You! Amen.

Letting Others Know

Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availed much. James 5:16 (King James Version)

There are two things I use to find difficult to share with others. One was my sins, failures, weaknesses, and struggles. The other was my need for prayer. I was convinced if people knew my places of sin, sorrow, and brokenness, they would change their view of me, reject me, or just plain abandon me. I also failed to see the power and necessity of their prayers. If given, prayer requests remained general in nature as a way to not disclose any real needs of the heart. The enemy of our souls loves it when we don’t see the truth and freedom of these two aspects of the body of Christ. On the other hand, our Abba Father delights to see us embrace the truth of His words to us.

Yesterday I experienced both areas. While at work I began struggling with thoughts the enemy was using against me in order to take me down an emotional spiral. Within a few hours I knew I was in trouble. Instantly, God brought to mind a friend who is a prayer warrior. I reached for my cell phone and did something I have never done before. I sent a text to her which said, “Pray for me. Choices are hard today.” She knew what I meant as she has been helping me to see that I have a choice in the area of my thoughts. Within minutes the thoughts subsided and I began to think clearly once again. God proceeded to walk me through the necessary steps to regain my footing. Within the hour I was able to text back to her, “Victorious at last.” The rest of my afternoon went amazingly smooth! The enemy knows (and I am learning) the power that comes when we allow fellow believers to lift us up in prayer. If this is something you are not doing, I invite you to seek out the prayer warriors in your life and avail yourself of their willingness to help you in this way.

Along with that, God has placed in my life precious individuals with whom I can discuss the areas of struggle from my past and present. Last night I experienced the joy and strength of one such conversation. This is not a time to simply air my dirty laundry. This is a part of my journey to freedom! These are individuals who will listen, advise, and pray. They celebrate God’s steady work in my life and continually assure me they are not going ANYWHERE. They are my God given guard rails and support beams on this journey. I treasure them!

Father, You never meant for me to walk isolated from Your body of believers. Thank you for the ones You have crossed my path with. May Your hand of blessing be on each one of them today. Amen.

Turning Points

And they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 2 Timothy 4:4 (New King James Version)

The Bible is very multi-layered. One thing I learned in Bible school years ago was that Scripture has one interpretation but many applications. For years I seemed to limit myself to the interpretation of Scripture and could not see the personal applications. I could understand who it was originally written to but when it came to applying it to my own life and circumstances I floundered. That is no longer the case. God’s Word comes alive to me now and each time I read it the personal applications are very evident.

Years ago, I would have read today’s verse and simply thought of the people who turn away from sound doctrine to follow after man’s philosophies and fables (falsehoods and lies). While that is the interpretation of this verse, God has wasted no time in bringing out the daily application for me. He has graciously personalized it in a precious way.

I came to know Christ as a teenager and while I was fortunate to learn a lot of sound doctrine, my mindsets and view of life were distorted in many ways. I had skewed thoughts about God, myself, people, circumstances, and how life worked. Coming to Christ and entering adulthood did not automatically “fix” all of that. While truth was introduced, lies were still embedded. I have had to come to the place of seeing that and also seeing where I have a choice in the direction my ears are turned. When I choose to listen to and believe God and what He says to me through His Word, His Spirit, and His people, I walk in victory and counter the lies. But when I (by an act of my own will) choose to listen to and believe the voice of the Enemy and my past interpretations and distortions of the truth, I struggle and fail.

Learning the truth and choosing to replace the lies with that truth is not always easy. I have had to realize that what I have grown accustomed to and comfortable with is not always best for me. I have had to ask God and other believers to help me see where my thinking is not accurate. Their answers have often brought me to tears but the tears were used to water the seeds of truth they were planting in me. As I see growth and change I am encouraged. I am also given more steps of obedience to take in order to continue learning the truth. I am noticing a shift in the counsel God gives me through others as well as a deeper awareness of my personal responsibility in what I am choosing to believe and act upon. But it is all necessary as I seek healing, wholeness, and freedom in my life.

Father, You have been patiently and persistently teaching me how to turn my ears toward truth. How painful have been the times they then turned back toward the lies. Anoint them with Your Spirit today to stay bent toward You! Amen.