I know it has been a while since I posted... I have no excuses... I allowed life and other events to come first in my life and have neglected the thing that God had called me to do. But He has continued to nudge me, and occasionally kick me in behind, about it... and although it may have taken me a while to get the hint... I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!! LOL
But this leads me to what I want to talk about today. I struggle, BIG TIME, with being consistent in my walk with Christ, and I think that many of my brothers and sisters may feel the same way. So I want to take the time to lift each other up and support each other in that struggle. Although Grace is not a license to sin, it is a promise and a guarantee that God's love will never fail you, it will never be taken away, it will never run out. No matter how far you have strayed from Him, how long you have been walking on your own instead of turning to Him, no matter how "big" or "small" you think your sin is... His love will always be there; His arms will always be open wide, waiting to welcome you back; The offer He extended to us on that cross still stands; His love and forgiveness will continue to be poured into you, over and over again.
I started this year out on FIRE! And that's not the first time either. For those of us who have been raised up in the church you may have gone to a summer camp or two... or so many you lost count. Do you recall that sort of "high" you came home with? That feeling of such excitement and exuberance that you could hardly contain yourself? You felt an urgency to start doing EVERY thing for God. You wanted to join every single ministry, every mission, every group, class, bible study you could reach. You felt like you wanted to morph from a baby christian to full grown christian and instantly grow spiritually over night, right? [please tell me I'm not the only one LOL]
Well, that's how I started the year. I was "all gung ho" as we say in Texas. I had just rededicated my life to Christ and then attended a women's retreat that left me feeling on cloud nine and so confident that I was this brand new person in Christ. Now, don't get me wrong, I am brand new, HE has fully restored and redeemed me and I am NOT the same person I was before... but, this does not make me immune to sin or make me completely grown spiritually. So in my new found euphoria I started not one, but two, new bible studies at once. I began a reading plan to read the entire Bible in a year. I was trying to really get this blog going. I even approached some others about beginning a ministry within my church. And then, I piled on work, raising a preschooler, running my own home business, and attempting to have a social life. I know some of you are probably thinking "is she crazy?" and the jury is still out on that. So it may be more obvious to everyone else than it was to me but I tackled way too much way too soon, and that burning to desire to follow and serve Him started to fizzle.
It didn't take long until I began to miss days on my bible studies or devotional or reading plan. Then I got lax on my blog and my home business. That's when the enemy began to attack. He whispered lies in my ear, because that is what he loves to do, and I began to listen because I took my eyes off of the Lord. I reverted back to my old ways of thinking.
- How will I get every thing done?
- How will I take care of every thing?
- How can I be better?
- I will never be good enough.
- I will always disappoint someone.
- I will never change.
Do you ever feel that way? Do you ever have those "not good enough" thoughts? Did you know that those are the enemy talking? Thoughts and feelings like that are not God's words and are not God's way of communicating with us. Those feelings are attacks from Satan. The enemy wants us to feel that way. He wants us to believe that we have to earn our salvation and grace. He wants to fill us up with LIES so that we feel sad, lonely, and too ashamed to turn to our Father. When we are thinking about ourselves, how we are preforming, what others are thinking of us, etc, we are turning our attention away from God and His will for us. That is exactly what the enemy wanted!! He wants to turn us away from the light of God's truth and into the dark shadows of his lies.
Periods of inconsistency are going to happen. Seasons of chasing after God instead of following His lead are going to happen. From time to time you are going to stray away from Him. That is what we do... we are human... we are not perfect, we never will be, therefore we will never follow Him perfectly or be consistent 100% of the time. But here is the good news... we don't have to. We don't have to be perfect. We don't have to do every thing right all of the time. When Jesus died on that cross He rescued and redeemed you from all of that. He stood in for you, he took the punishment and death that you and I deserved, and he paid our debts in FULL.
Does He want us to follow Him consistently, all the days of our lives? Yes, of course He does!! I want my son to listen, behave, and mind me consistently all the day of his life, too! Is it always going to happen? HA! Of course not!! Am I always going to love him even when he messes up? Of course! My love for my child will never end. Will I always welcome my son with open arms to try harder next time and help him learn from his mistakes? Absolutely!! Every single time! THAT is the exact same way that God feels about you and me!!! Even when you are not consistent God loves you, forgives you, upholds you, supports you, protects you, and continues to guide you.
When you are feeling inadequate, alone, afraid, unloved, or forgotten remember the promises God has made to you. You are chosen [Isa. 43:10]! You are redeemed [Isa 43:1]! You are loved and cherished [Isa 43:4]! You are never forgotten [Isa 49:16]! Never forget who you belong to, you are a child of the one true King!!! Do not let life overwhelm you, turn toward God and rely on the light of His truth to see you through the darkest nights. Do not allow Satan's lies to fill your head and drag your heart down, fix your eyes and your thoughts on God and His thoughts about you instead. His love and grace are perfect... you don't have to be!
So stop chasing God or your salvation or perfection and rest in the peace and power of His redeeming blood. Choose today to follow Him to the best of your ability. Forget how you failed Him yesterday. Don't think about how you might fail him later. Focus on today, this moment, and choose to serve and honor Him. Then choose the next moment and the next and the next. When you mess up or stray, because you will, do not dwell on it. Acknowledge it, talk to Him about it, and then LET. IT. GO. and start again tomorrow.
I hope you find some comfort and encouragement in this. My thoughts, love, and prayers are with all of you all the time!
-Jordan :)
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