Praise His Strength {Day 2}

Jesus has a way of taking us to the places where we don't want to go to get us to where we really want
to go.... what?!  Yeah, it's that 'backwards theology' of the Bible.  Making us weak so we have to rely on His perfect strength.  And wow, I'm there.  I'm very American in that I don't want to feel my lack of strength.  At. all.  But I have had countless experiences where I was taken to a place of surrender, a place in life where I had no choice but to rely on the strength of God and that of my brothers and sisters in Christ.  It's humbling, for sure, but it is oh-so-sweet.

I sat with a dear friend at lunch and discussed the tendency we have in modern Christendom to resist vulnerability.  It's so unnatural to put your heart out there in a conversation, only to be misunderstood or unappreciated.  However, He offers himself to us everyday, and we often reject Him.  As tough as it is to be vulnerable with others, offering our weak hearts to Christ will never be unsafe.  Never unwelcome. Never undesired or rejected or any of those things we fear in our relationships.  Jesus welcomes our weakness...He doesn't reject us for needing Him.  He welcomes our neediness, so to speak.  He delights to bestow His strength and power on us, and does so lavishly and generously.  I've come to see that relying on my own strength forfeits the wonderful opportunity I have to rely on His limitless strength.

As I set out for my trip to Ghana, West Africa, several years ago, I felt a sense of fear wash over me.  I was reminded of Isaiah 41:10 by a dear mentor, and remember what a source of strength that passage was to me over those 8 weeks:

"Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand."

Every time I read that, I picture my Father God taking my feeble hand in His big, strong, capable right hand, and walking me through whatever tough situation I am facing, like a small child and her Father.

He wants to do that for you too, friend.  Will you allow yourself to be 'weak' enough to need Him in that child-like way?

Lord God, we praise you for your strength and how we can unreservedly come to you with our weaknesses.  We delight in your limitless power and the fact that we can draw from you and your resources - never to come up empty.  You are beyond our comprehension, dear Jesus.  You are more than anything we can ever imagine.

Link to the whole series here....

Grace & Peace to you, friends....

Ruth

Getting Off the Performance Merry-Go-Round

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I'm was used to spinning.  The dizzying spin of life, where there are too many things to do and not enough time to do them.  Wanting to find affirmation and approval from what I did, and not in who I was in Christ.  And then my life fell apart.  All my achievements tumbled down upon me, like a Jenga tower played with too long...and I was crushed beneath this pile.  I remember feeling like I had failed.  And miserably.  I didn't know what I know now--that God was working in the midst of all that mess to bring me revelation of His deep love for me.  I didn't have to 'have it all together' to be loved by Him!  (And neither do you.)  


Just last night, I was talking to a good friend, and it all came back to me.  You see, sometimes I still wonder why I went through all those trials--the depression, the medical bills, the loneliness and feelings of abandonment from God and others.  And talking to this friend last night--well, it all came into focus for me again.  God reminded me that He was pulling me off of the performance merry-go-round!  He had, up to that point, allowed me to achieve for long enough.  And it was time for me to realize that my worth was not based on what I did, but on whose I was.  Beloved of the King of kings.  It was a 'severe mercy', to quote Lewis.  


I am still learning how to walk after that fall, picking up and wiping off my knees, and seeing my Daddy smile at me, knowing I don't have to twirl around anymore.  I can stand on the promise of His love.  You can too.  


There is much more to tell of this story....but perhaps just a small snippet will encourage you today to seek  to understand God's deep love for you.  My prayer for you, from Ephesians 3 [HCSB]:


¹⁴ For this reason I kneel before the Father ¹⁵ from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named. ¹⁶ I pray that He may grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power in the inner man through His Spirit, ¹⁷ and that the Messiah may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, ¹⁸ may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, ¹⁹ and to know the Messiah’s love that surpasses knowledge, so you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
 ²⁰ Now to Him who is able to do above and beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us— ²¹ to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen. 


Have a blessed and God-filled day, 


Ruth

The Foes of Grace

Hello blog friends.  It is nice to 'see you' here!  I trust you are having a great day.  It is another beautiful Florida day and I am wresting with some hard choices... but finding refreshment in the Word, wise counsel and prayer.  I am encouraged by a new book in my Kindle app, What Happens When Women Say Yes to God, by Lysa TerKeurst.  Last weekend, when I was tossing and turning, this book really stirred my heart.  It was an e-book freebie (my hubby is great at finding those!) and I suggest you look into it even if the cost has gone up by now.  Here is a {long but good} excerpt that encouraged me yesterday, concerning enemies of Grace:

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"Grace has two fierce foes, though--acceptance and rejection.  Imagine, for a moment, a tall, gated wall.  Puddles of mud dot the well-worn, barren ground.  It is evident that many have lingered here.  Two gatekeepers wish to detain you.  They wish to take your hand in friendship and have you remain on the outside of the wall.  All the while, Jesus is standing on the other side of the wall in an open field full of beauty and adventure.  So few have actually made it past the gatekeepers into this field that the blades of grass remain unbroken and the flowers unpicked.


The first gatekeeper is Acceptance.  He requires much of me.  He seems so enticing with his offerings of compliments and big promises.  But though he is fun for a moment, soon my mind is flooded with concerns of being able to continue to impress him.  I am quickly overwhelmed with pondering my interactions with others and keeping score on the table of comparison.


The second gatekeeper is Rejection.  He also requires much of me.  He seems appealing because he gives me permission to excuse myself from following my true calling.  Yet he demands that I pull back and shy away from the obedience for which my soul longs.  His whispered questions of 'What if?' and 'What do they think of you?' linger in my mind and influence my actions and reactions.


How do I deny the lure of these two gatekeepers of grace?  After all, I've tasted their laced fruit and, though I'm aware of their poison, I also crave their sweetness.  In my flesh I desire the praises of Acceptance and the excuses of Rejection.  The limelight of Acceptance shines on the pride that has yet to be driven from my heart.  The thought that I am really something denies the reality that, but for the grace of Christ, I am nothing.  The ease of settling for less is the pull of Rejection.  When I listen to him, I shrink back and pull inside myself.  I no longer want to press on.  I want to quit.  The thought that I am really nothing eclipses the reality that, because of the grace of Christ in me, I am a treasured something.  


Jesus is standing behind these two slick gatekeepers.  His arms are open, waiting to embrace and enfold me in the security of His truth.  His truth that I am accepted, no matter what.  No matter what choices I make, His love is not based on my performance.  His love is based on His perfect surrender at the cross.  But, I must choose to accept this love and walk this truth for it to make a difference in how I journey through life. "
This is where my heart is today, as I struggle with choices that will affect not only me, but others as well.  It is hard for me to put aside pleasing others, and choose first of all to please my Master, Jesus Christ and follow through on choices my husband and I have discussed.  Reading in Matthew 25:31-40 this morning was also a challenge for my current situation as I ask myself, 'What am I doing for the least of these?'....It is in sacrifice that we find our true joy, and this means putting aside my goals for the goals of the kingdom.  Our task is to repent of our sin, accept Grace, and make choices that value the cross of Christ our King.   


May we all seek first the kingdom of God, care for the needs of others, and put our own desires second to those of Christ our Savior.  Jesus is waiting for us on the other side of the gate!


Blessings on your day,
Ruth