Staying on Track

I run in the path of your commands, for you have set my heart free.  Psalm 119:32 (NIV) 

Sometimes I can feel so bound, frustrated, and inhibited in what I am doing or not doing…  Do you ever feel like that?  And, in my experience, it never fails that God thereafter shows me how I’ve been off track.  I once heard someone share how experiencing true freedom is like how a faithful train steadily travels, without fetter nor detour, to its happy destination.  In order for the train to travel in the right direction, even just a mile, it must be securely fixed onto the tracks.  Off the tracks, it doesn’t go very far, especially not in the right direction.  However, on the tracks, the train can reach great distances in reasonable amounts of time, and its course is continually guided in the right direction, to its next destination.  It is rolling!  As ironic as it may sound to the world, God actually offers us great freedom in fixing our hearts on His Word.  When we “run in the path of [His] commands,” we are guided, just like the train, to the next destination, and our hearts are set free!  We are free to travel in the right direction, His best for us.  Without Him and without “fixing” my eyes on Him and His Word, I do not go very far at all.  In fact, I do not go anywhere – I just get stuck in a rut.  No wonder I end up feeling bound, frustrated, and inhibited!  All I have to do is trust in His ways, His standards, and His commands, and then I can start moving forward.  Even though letting go of my own way and trusting Him is not always easy, it is really just as simple as a ride.  God, please help me to trust You and to stay on track.  I want to stay out of the rut and be on a roll!

Body Parts

The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body.  So it is with Christ….  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many….  But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be.  If they were all one part, where would the body be?  As it is, there are many parts, but one body.…  The eye cannot say to the hand, “I don’t need you!” And the head cannot say to the feet, “I don’t need you!”.…  But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other.…  Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.  Paul, 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 

Every person has specific agendas, based on his or her specific expertise.  Our knowledge, experience, values, and frame of reference make us biased about virtually everything – it’s inevitable.  This bias affects our vision and perspective, our judgment, and our actions daily.  And, in actuality, there is not anything essentially wrong with being biased.  The problem begins when we cannot relax in our defenses long enough to consider the knowledge, experience, and values of another person, potentially an expert in an entirely different area than our own, with a different perspective.  The strength and solution comes when we can, in fact, draw upon the resources of the intelligent and experienced minds around us, reasoning together, to circumspectly consider how to make the best decisions with what we all know and value.  The political and industrial realms give us vivid examples, whether negative or positive, of these truths every day.  As a believer in the body of Christ, the Word admonishes us to value what each “part” of the body has to offer, in 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.  Let not pride, bitterness, or even anxiety get in the way of us functioning together as a body, with the mind of Christ, for God’s Kingdom and for His Glory.  Each part of the body is weak in some way, needing the others.  And, each part of the body is strong in certain ways, to serve the others.  Relying upon one another in humility and openness is the one sure way to go forward in our eternal purpose, making the best decisions we can, as we are ultimately guided by the Holy Spirit together.  Therein lies our strength, the joy of the Lord, as we consider one another in love.

Perfect Love

There is no fear in love.  But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment.  The one who fears is not made perfect in love.  We love because He first loved us.  1 John 4:18-19

God is the only one who has always shown perfect love.  Our acceptance of His perfect love allows us to be free from fear and free from ideas of punishment.  As children of God, we love imperfectly, so often.  Yet, there is hope, because the love of God lives in us, if we know Him, and He loves us too much to allow us to stay as we are.  He will help us to grow towards His perfect love, as we trust Him and experience Him.  As long as we are in this depraved flesh and in this fallen world, it will be a struggle to constantly love as He loves; but, may this always be our goal.  Receive God’s perfect love for you, so that you may walk in freedom from fears and freedom from unforgiveness, which only holds us captive inside.

Love Always

[Love] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.  I Corinthians 13:7
As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy.  James 5:11

Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres. What a high calling – love. Surely it is impossible to continually practice and master without the indwelling of Christ’s spirit daily guiding my heart and mind. How I fail so often to welcome Him and depend on Him. Oh, to have the mind of Christ just today, that I might walk in a way worthy of His Name and of my calling… Love of God, flood my being and becoming, that I should only overflow with the inevitable graciousness that showers from personally knowing your compassion and mercy for my own weak soul.

Forget Not

“Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name.  Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits – who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”  David, Psalm 103:1-5

It is when I remember that all good things come from Jehovah God that I can truly praise Him from my inmost being.  Has He not done so much for us, when we fail so often and fall short in our humanity?  He loves us just as we are, forgives our sins, heals our sicknesses and hurts, and saves our souls.  We each have some pit we have been redeemed from or need to be redeemed from.  And, if that weren’t enough, He lays upon us love and compassion, and He satisfies our desires with good things.  There is no substitute that can compare to the free gift of God’s grace and goodness.  He gives graciously to those who will receive Him.  We can try to fill our lives with other things, to pacify ourselves with temporal pleasures, but He is the only legitimate way to quench our thirst for life and to satisfy our hunger for love and truth.  God made us to need Him.  Sin or perversion is simply an illegitimate means of meeting a legitimate need.  Our Father in Heaven waits for us to remember He is near, accept His love, and receive His fulness.  Then, we will truly praise Him for who He is and for all He does.

Grief to Joy

“I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.  A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world.  So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.  In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.  Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.”  Jesus, John 16:20-24

Be encouraged in your good labor…and be free to cry before the Lord.  He understands grief, sorrow, and every hard thing…  We have a hope of joy to strengthen our endurance.  Thank you, Andrea, for this timely word, yesterday.