Lately everything is a strain. From getting up in the morning, eating healthy, staying focused to being patient with others and myself, loving others and myself and so on. It's almost as if I have never walked through a normal day and gotten through it without feeling like a failure. In the midst of these days that seem to drain me of anything and everything, I am reminded of my complete and utter dependence on God. He is teaching me that I can do nothing good apart from Him and have nothing good in me apart from Him. When I was first convicted of this truth I cringed and was a little taken aback (pride); but the more I embrace this truth the more freedom I am finding in it (grace). There is so much freedom in knowing that nothing I do good or bad changes who I am in Christ. I am extremely dependent on His grace in my life to walk me through each and every moment of every day. Some days I embrace His grace so freely that life flows from that grace and I forget that it's not me that can do the things He allows me to do, it's solely His grace. That is another reason times like these are so important to experience. Humbling myself at His feet and acknowledging my sin, shortcomings and failures before Him knowing that He and He alone is who will save me from myself.
I am reminded of Jesus speaking to a believer in the book of Luke. When Jesus was called "Good teacher" by this man he responded by saying "Why do you call me good? No one except my Father in Heaven is good." To think that Jesus the Son of God, our Savior who was perfect throughout his time on earth asked why somebody called him good…WOW that puts things into perspective for me. I may feel like a "good" Christian when I am serving or giving or loving even when it's hard or I don't want to, but in reality none of that matters because I have no good apart from Christ. Jesus is the only reason I can claim righteousness and freedom from sin. I serve a GOOD God who is way greater than anything my mind can grasp or comprehend! Praise the Lord for He is GOOD!
