In this season of life, I have been diving deep into two scripture focuses as God is taking me through a time of pruning of my old ways. The first scripture I seek to follow after is Ezekiel 36:26 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.” This scripture is teaching me to ask God to break my heart for the things that break His heart. As a result, Love is easier to hold even for my enemies. God will break your heart if you ask! It is messy at times. I have suddenly felt tears burning upon seeing a kid with a hollow expression purchase a pack of cigarettes or hearing someone say, “I don’t see the evidence of God.” God whispers to me in those moments, “This person is my child, let them know my Love for them.” These encounters, like so many others, have given me a new perspective on seeing the world. We really do not know what others’ lives are like behind the scenes, and God will show us how to live in thankfulness, mercy, and care if only we let Him!
The second scripture that I have taken into practice involves the story of the rich young ruler in the Bible. The rich man asked Jesus what he needed to do to obtain eternal life. Jesus replied in Matthew 19:21, “If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come. follow Me.” The rich man walked away from Jesus in grief at His reply because of the many valuables he owned.All my life, I thought about this verse and reflected upon what might hold me back from the Kingdom of God. I always pictured myself giving my possessions away if God ever called me to follow Him like his disciples so as not to stay attached to the world. Recently, I have been called into my future, this opportunity to go to Peru being my first step. God brought this scripture back to me after my acceptance for the journey arrived, and I did a major sweep through my house and my mind of the things that I carried that were unclean in His eyes or that I was at risk of idolizing before God. These were things such as reading material (I had collected books), clothing, and music. What a difficult yet revealing time that was for me! I have not a single regret in this process, as God’s Well of Life is more fulfilling and eternal than anything on this ephemeral world!
I encourage others to take these scriptures into consideration as well, as these things I have learned will carry me into the fulfillment of God’s ultimate plan for my life! I am so excited to take this journey to Peru to put into practice everything God has been teaching me in this season of my life, and the things He has in store are beyond imagination! Hallelujah!
