Do I believe in what I'm doing? Have I even thought about it? Am I willing to take up my cross? Am I willing to give up everything that I have? Can I trust Him?
I believe with all my heart. I believe in what I'm doing, but more than that I believe in what God is doing through me. I believe that I have been pulled from the flames of hell which I rightfully and legally deserve, saved by the One who loved us more than His own life. I believe that it is Jesus not me that will be building churches, though I will be present. I believe it is Jesus not me who will be caring for the hurt and the lost. I believe that giving my life to Him is not enough but it is all I have to offer.
My prayer is that the hurting, the broken, the lost, the men, the women, the children, the sick, the healthy, the rich, the poor, the orphans, the beggars and the workers see only one thing in me… Jesus. I pray that everything that I do points up. I pray that I do not forget to look up myself, as the only difference between them and me is I have been pulled by God's great mercy from my rightful place of judgment to a position of future righteousness. It is all I can do to be a way for God to pull them from the very same fate into His loving arms.
I will take up my cross. I will submit to the Almighty God who deserves more than all the glory. As I take up my cross I will not forget the ultimate sacrifice paid, I will not forget that it was by grace that I was saved. I will not forget that it was a gift. A gift that is unfathomable. An exchange of forgiveness, of justification, of RIGHTEOUSNESS, transferred to me so that I can STAND before a holy and just God.
I pray that I will never forget what I deserve and where I deserve to be without the perfect sacrifice of the Son of God. I pray I will always be thankful. I pray that I will proclaim truth to those who are in darkness and shine a light upon Jesus. Upon the only One who can save them.
I will give up everything. I have nothing that rightfully belongs to me. It is all His anyway. I am not afraid to leave. I have the ultimate promise. I am being sent out as a VICTOR. I will not fail because it is not me but Christ who is proclaimed as the victor. He has already defeated death. He has already defeated evil. He has dealt with the problem of sin. Freely He has given me victory with Him. Freely I will proclaim that victory.
I pray that I will believe the victory already proclaimed. I pray that every step, every single inch of ground that I walk will be in the footsteps of our King. That He grants me the privilege to be in His dust. That He is the only one leading my path.
I can and I will trust Him. I have been given something far from what I deserve. I have been given a life that I legally and rightfully don't deserve. I can trust Him with everything that I am because of who He is. I no longer belong to sin. I no longer wear a robe of dirty filthy rags, I wear a robe of a free man, of one paid in full. My chains are gone and I can breathe life in through any darkness.
I pray I trust in Him without ceasing. I pray I come to accept the amazing grace, so much so that it pours out to all. I pray that Jesus will take over my life and make it His. I submit to you Father with all I am.
"O God you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. So I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands."
-Psalm 63:1-4
"I love the Lord, because He has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because He inclined His ear to me, therefore I will call on Him as long as I live. The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of hades laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish. Then I called on the name of the Lord: 'O Lord, I pray, deliver my soul!'"
-Psalm 116:1-4
