Jesus, I need You more.
How long ‘til I finally choose you every. single. time? What is it going to take for my flesh to finally catch up with my soul and realize that I am Yours, set apart from the fleshly desires of this world? What is it going to take for my choices to be a result of my love for You and not a love for myself?
Jesus, I need You more.
“…but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more.” Romans 5:20
Thank You, Jesus, for your grace and eternal gift of salvation. Apart from You, I am nothing. Apart from You, I cannot do anything.
Sitting at a bonfire one night with some of my dear friends, I fell into a deep stare watching the fire as it sizzled in the beautiful night sky, stars shining bright. My mind was in a state of meditating on God and what He has shown me recently, when suddenly, one of my friends decided to try and scare me by pushing me abruptly, acting like she was going to push me into the fire. Instantly, I stepped back to keep my distance because I didn’t want to burn. Immediately after this interaction, a thought came to mind.
“This is how I am when it comes to my relationship with God.”
You see, the Fire represents God. As humans, we try so hard to stay as close to the Fire as possible, but not to get too close because we don’t want to get consumed by it, nor too far away because we will lose the heat that it gives off and we will be cold. We try so hard to stay on the ‘right path.’ We want so badly to make it to Heaven, so we surrender all we are to Him and seek after Him as best we can, doing the things we were always told to do: read His word, spend time in prayer, be involved in church things, serve in multiple ministries, etc…
But, what if, instead of just standing as close as we can to the Fire… we jumped into the Fire?
What if God…
*wants us, personally?
*wants us to jump into His arms and be 100% consumed by Him?
*wants us to spend time with Him, in His presence and not have our primary focus on other things – but truly get to know Him?
I believe that is what He wants.
I want to know Him, and to be known by Him. “But if anyone loves God, He is known by God (1 Corinthians 8:3).”
Sometimes the second we finally get even a glimpse of who He is, we distance ourselves. Just like us around the Fire; when we get too close, we distance ourselves. When we get too far, we get closer. As if, the moment we finally experience Him for who He is, we say ‘no, I don’t want that… I just want to get by and stay where I am comfortable.’ We easily and so routinely put on the act as if we are so near to Him, when really… we are just standing from afar and doing what we can to say we are close to Him but we do not really know Him; our Father who created us.
…Personally, I want to jump into the Fire. I want to know the Fire. I want to be known by the Fire. I want to be in the Fire. I want to live with the Fire. I want the Fire to shine and burn so brightly through me, that others see me and desire the same thing. That they too, desire to know their Creator.
As a result of knowing Him, everything else will work for His glory and for our good. Our deeds, words, actions, and everything about us will resonate the name of Christ Jesus.
While on this journey, we somehow manage to feel as if we’re finally doing something right. And, hey, these are all good things and all necessary. But what I’ve learned is that even in doing all of these things, they aren’t the things that save me. They aren’t the things that give me fulfillment. They aren’t the things that satisfy me. They are a RESULT of what satisfies me.
You know what does satisfy me? What satisfies the depths of my soul?
His name is Jesus.
Through Him, I am saved. Through Him, I am a child of God. And, as a result of my love for Him, I do these other things. I spend time with Him. I stay in His presence. I read His Word. I pray. I sing. I live. I breathe.
“Jesus, help me to continue in my love for You. And may my fleshly desires be put away with, and may my soul’s desire to please You, reign in my life.”
Jesus, I need You more.
Galatians 5:16-25 states,
“But I say to you, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Soli Deo Gloria
SZ
