As a believer and follower of Jesus Christ, I must constantly and continually surrender my life - my thoughts, my heart and my desires - over to him. I must empty myself so that his Holy Spirit can fill me with his love and compassion - his truth and his life.
I must live every moment - from this moment forward - in service to him. Every action, every thought, needs to be based in the desires of my Lord and Savior. I must constantly seek his will, his thoughts, his heart, and make them my own. I must seek to be one with him as he is with his Father.
I must live my life in such a way as to show any and all that my life is not my own, and has been transformed with a living faith in our eternal Savior. I must live my life in such a way that all my words and actions reveal His truth and love. With compassion, understanding and gentleness. Amen
I was in the Spirit when I wrote those words. It was much easier to write those words than it is to live by them and/or up to them. I have fallen, many times, since I wrote those words. Sometimes I even wonder if it was really me who wrote those words. Oh I know deep down that it really wasn't me who wrote those words, but rather the Holy Spirit of God within me. Yet I was his instrument of choice. He selected me to write and read and live and die by those words. Those words are a blessing and a curse. They are a curse because I cannot live up to them. They are a blessing because they show me and remind me that God is with me, all the time. I know God is with me whether I am writing words of inspiration or hanging myself with my own tongue. He loves me when I'm good and he loves me when I'm not. He loves me when I obey his wishes and he loves me even when I think my way is best.
The prophet Jeremiah knows and understands what I mean. In the third chapter of the Old Testament book of Lamentations, the prophet Jeremiah describes so clearly what it's like "...to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31) But he also wonderfully describes God's love and mercy...
But this I call to mind, and therefore have hope:
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning;
Great is your faithfulness.
"The Lord is my portion," says my soul,
Therefore I will hope in Him.
The Lord is good to those who wait for Him,
To the soul who seeks Him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
For the salvation of the Lord.
Lamentations 3:21-26 ESV
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