This post is dedicated to my friends: Mike and Diane Leonard, Jennifer Mitchell, Shana and Tom Cash, and Mac Mitchell. The Lord has worked through each of you to encourage me this week in difficult times.
In the potter’s hands of our Abba Father
[Christ’s love is enough.]
The transformation process has already begun. I am being molded into the woman of God that He created me to become. During this “waiting period� before training camp and before my departure date, God has been teaching me difficult lessons. I am a follower of Christ, but I have much to learn about the Word and how to daily entrust my life to the Lord. Through this time, HE has taught me that . . .
- HE is enough. HIS grace is sufficient to cover my sins and inadequacies. It is not necessary for me to live in guilt or allow the enemy to speak lies unto me that I am inadequate or not worthy to serve the Lord. My Abba Father has equipped me with passions and talents to serve Him with all my being. I no longer desire to live in condemnation but instead in acceptance of the Father’s unmerited grace unto us.-Lord, may we accept your grace with contrite hearts and a desire to be obedient to your commands regardless of what it costs us on this earth.-
- HIS love is enough to give hope unto the hopeless. This summer I have had time to reflect upon my experiences last July in South Africa. Our team saw situations that we could not resolve. Often it was too much to handle emotionally. During our ministry days, we had to relinquish our burdens unto Christ. Man cannot mend broken hearts. Only the Lord truly heals hearts. We had to love others with Christ’s love because His love is unending, unrelenting, unfailing. My capacity to love others should not rest in my own strength because I know it will run dry.
- I must seek to study the Word- not just for my sake but for the sake of others . . . the Word brings life and encouragement. It is rich. Oh, how often have I neglected spending time in the Word and have I depended on my own efforts! May God’s people hunger for the Word more than food, and may we grow dependent on God rather than ourselves. This morning I read Psalm 127 which awakened me to a difficult truth. Psalm 127:1-2 reads “Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep.� Upon reading this passage, I was perplexed at the meaning and read the commentary below the text. It read: “Psalm 127. The basic theme of this wisdom psalm is that without the Lord’s blessing, all human toil is worthless.� and “127:1-2 All Effort Is in Vain without the Lord. A little reflection on v. 1 makes the point clear: of course those who build a house must labor on it, and certainly the watchman of a city must stay awake. At the same time they must carry out their efforts in faith, trusting God to make the work beneficial. Similarly, a farmer must be diligent, but he must practice his diligence in faith- in this case by receiving the sleep that God wants to give to his beloved. These verses share their wisdom in Proverbs, which promotes diligence but clarifies that diligence is neither greed nor restless anxiety. The Sabbath commandment is a gift to enable God’s people to live by faith, requiring them not to work all the time, as they trust him for their future well-being.� Upon reading this passage and commentary, I was brought to tears. Unfortunately, my diligence has produced restless anxiety at times. This pains me to admit, but I have chosen not to actively give Christ my burdens. Trust me it has not proven to be beneficial. I do not encourage you to follow my example. For so long, I have carried the burdens of fundraising and personal struggles. I thought- surely if I work hard enough I will overcome. False. Fail. Whatever you would like to call it. I was wrong. Good work ethic apart from surrender to Christ will not last.
- I must trust the Lord with every aspect of my life– finances, friendships, family, etc. Through fundraising for the World Race, the Lord has taught me that worrying does not add any number to my days or any amount of money to my account. This lesson has been hard to learn. During these summer months, God has shown himself yet again to be faithful to my needs. He has provided encouragement when I needed encouragement. He has provided a new church home when I moved back to Georgia for this transition period between graduation and the World Race. He has provided a job to assist in raising support for WR. The Lord is teaching me to wait on His perfect timing and to trust Him that HE will meet my needs for this upcoming year-in community, finances, friendships. HE knows me better than I know myself.
- We must see each other through Christ’s eyes. This requires me to lay down every expectation that I have of myself and others. I must love others and myself with the love of Christ. I cannot expect myself nor others to be perfect. We each are growing in different areas, and we need to extend grace unto others.
- I must accept myself how Christ sees me. Yesterday I was listening to a sermon entitled Love Story (based on the book of Ruth) by David Platt. He said in the middle of the sermon: “Do not let past sins hold you back from God’s grace.� This profoundly spoke to me. For so long, I have let past struggles hold me back from the freedom we each have in Christ. Galations 5:1 “ For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.� We are called to be obedient to Scripture, but we are also called to accept the grace that He offers unto us. I rejoice in this truth. Since the beginning of time, God has been weaving a story of redemption. HE is my kinsman redeemer.
[July 2010. “In the studio.”]
Note: all passages from ESV
