Friday, April 24, 2015

Grateful

When I got up this morning and thought about everything that had to be accomplished today and this weekend, I was tempted to go back to bed.  How long can I carry on at this pace?   

Weekends generally carry the connotation of rest and relaxation, but for my family, the tempo always increases a few beats.  Yet, my heart is full.  The presence of the Lord has been so tangible over the last month, His work in my life so visible to me, that I almost feel like an onlooker peering in. 

Just this morning I read that "no one can snatch anyone out of [God's] hand", and that "no one can undo what God has done."  (Isa.43:13)  What encouraging words in relationship to my latest storm!  Surely, "From eternity to eternity I am God", declares the Lord.  It doesn't seem to matter how frazzled I feel, if I know this one thing, that God is with me and that He is in control, then the winds can beat out their furry.  Surely, the Lord gives "a peace that passes all understanding!"  (Phil. 4:7)

As the morning rituals began, lunches made and breakfast on the table, I began to sense an attitude change.  Something I heard on the radio earlier in the week came back to me.  So often I revert back to a sinner saved by grace, which is, in fact, in one sense, what I am.  But in reality, it is what I once was.  Now I am a saint indwelt by the Holy Spirit who empowers me to live in obedience.  The very life of Christ lives in me!  What a concept!  I think if I really truly grasped this truth it would change my entire attitude.  This day is not something to get through nor to dread.  Rather, it is an opportunity to know His life lived through me. 

Don't get me wrong.  I often fail . . . miserably.  In fact, I'm still reeling from my last big mess up.  And that's not to mention the smaller, hidden yuck that I battle every day.  But I'm learning that if I enter my day with the attitude of who I am in Christ, then the chances for being an overcomer are much higher. 

There are days, even weeks, when I behave like my God is small.  The calendar marches on and I just try to keep up.  Yet, it seems peculiar that when I simply do the next thing, not knowing how everything else will be accomplished, God shows Himself capable to handle all that concerns me.  (A practical definition of faith.)  My most hectic days turn into the most rewarding because God delights in showing Himself strong on my behalf.  And in this place His presence glows warm.

Today I am truly grateful.  His Word has been like arms wrapping me close to His heart, enfolding me in grace.  Much of it is too personal to share here, but I will say this.  What seems to be ending in my life, cut off, is only a season of death and burial.  It lies dormant so that roots might grow deeper.  God has chosen me for fruitfulness and by faith I believe it to be true.  Because even though He has done great things in my past, "it is nothing compared to what [God] is going to do.  [He] is about to do something new."  (Isa. 43:18-19)  God doesn't need me, but he wants me, and my desire is to be about my Father's business.  



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