Discovering what love is one day at a time
Doesn’t every family have a story of one or two family members that make themselves scarce at big family functions…especially when it is time to do the dishes? Cook? Clean up the mess? Take care of the kids? Excuses run deep and can be as simple as well, "I am not really good in the kitchen, I really don’t like..," This can transfer over in our lives in places that we are not comfortable, places we do not feel called, and even into areas we don’t feel like we have a passion for. Interesting how we can reason on our own and not listen to the scripture that says, “Every place the soul of your foot will tread, I have given you.” When we reason on our own and believe the excuses that we tell ourselves, we toss away the invitations to not only see God more, but to know Him more. So… do we really trust Him? We serve a relational God; He invites us into situations that are beyond our abilities, and out of our comfort zone. However, He never puts us in situations that He is not, nor does He leave us without the grace we need to do whatever the circumstance calls for. His Word tells us to trust Him… “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” What happens to us when we refuse the love of God and his gift of repentance, and His gift of salvation? For me, before I finally received that gift of repentance, and entered into His gracious and beautiful gift of salvation I lived with an insatiable appetite for more. It didn’t matter what it was or the consequences, but no matter what it was it wasn’t enough. I always needed more, and I never found the ending point. I never found real peace. I could only find temporary fixes. I never grasped the weight of my actions, and refused to do so. What happens for us who have accepted His gift of repentance, and salvation, but we refuse to step out of our comfort zone, to know Him more? We become stagnant in our growth….we fail to mature…and we become stiff- necked. God has set us in the place of victory. He gives us all the provision we need to overcome obstacles in our lives, He asks us to listen and obey…just like we do with our children. For example a toddler may have all the clothing they need to get dressed and it is even set out for them on the bed….However, because he/she does not like stripes, will refuse to get dressed. What does this do for the child that refuses? Relationally, what does the child miss out on in the day, because he is naked, isolated, and unprepared? How does this translate to us in our adult lives as a follower of Christ? What does it look like when we refuse the invitation to see God because we do not like something so we refuse to try? How does this affect our relationships, or the potential for relationships and opportunity to connect with those that do not know Him? How do we steward the testimony of God when we act like this? May we each truly believe Him at His Word, trust Him fully, not rely on our own reasoning or look to our own old patterns of thinking, Let us each see our lives through His eyes, and with joy step into places we never even imagined we would go. May we each steward His testimony by His grace and love.
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AuthorI have been married to my wonderful husband for 29 years. We have two young men ages 25 and 20.. This blog is somewhat of a journal and attempt for me to remind myself of my purpose and invite others to join me in keeping an eternal perspective as we move through each day. Archives
May 2023
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