Several months back I noticed that I had become overly introspective. I don't know if it was a result of being on the World Race, living in close Christian community for the first time, or just a season I was going through but I was constantly looking at my soul through a microscope. I think a big part of it may have been that I was subconsciously attempting to make up for the previous decades of my life where I barely evaluated my motives at all. I asked the Lord to help me find a middle ground and in the process, He began to reveal to me the bigger issue behind my problem- I was living in extremes and I couldn't find the balance.
STRIVING FOR PURE MOTIVES ————– ? ————– TAKING ACTION
SPEAKING WITH GRACE————— ? ————— SPEAKING WITH TRUTH
KEEPING AN OPEN MIND ————— ?————— STICKING TO BIBLICAL FACT
KNOWING FORGIVENESS ————— ? ————— FEELING CONVICTION
WEIGHING WITH TRUTH ————— ? ————— BLIND OBEDIENCE
PREFERRING YOURSELF ————— ? ————— PREFERRING OTHERS
FREE WILL ————— ? ————— THE “PLAN”
GENTLENESS————— ? ————— BOLDNESS
FILLING UP ————— ? ————— POURING OUT
When the Lord reveals a flaw in my life, it is my natural tendency to throw all of my effort into rectifying that situation. I think this is a common reaction for a lot of Christians and while the intentions are noble the result is not always what the Lord was asking for. The Lord has been teaching me that He lives in the balance. When we get to a place where we are bored with our devotionals because we never use what we are learning, God doesn't want us to abandon our quiet times altogether for the sake of pouring out- He wants us to meet Him in the middle. When the Lord reveals to us that we are living in guilt, He doesn't want us to abandon conviction altogether in the pursuit of understanding forgiveness- He wants us to meet Him in the middle. He wants us to find HIM in the balance.
STRIVING FOR PURE MOTIVES ————– JESUS ————– TAKING ACTION
SPEAKING WITH GRACE————— JESUS ————— SPEAKING WITH TRUTH
KEEPING AN OPEN MIND ————— JESUS————— STICKING TO BIBLICAL FACT
KNOWING FORGIVENESS ————— JESUS ————— FEELING CONVICTION
WEIGHING WITH TRUTH ————— JESUS ————— BLIND OBEDIENCE
PREFERRING YOURSELF ————— JESUS ————— PREFERRING OTHERS
FREE WILL ————— JESUS ————— THE “PLAN”
GENTLENESS————— JESUS ————— BOLDNESS
FILLING UP ————— JESUS ————— POURING OUT
I honestly have to laugh at myself. It's funny because the answer is so simple. It's was almost like I was back in school and the Lord had passed out a test that I just couldn't understand. Each time I brought my test up to His desk with a question He smiled and said “You're making it more complicated than it is”. When we finally figure out the answer it's so easy, almost too easy. The answer is Jesus. It's Jesus each and every time.
