May God's wishes for you all (not yours) come true in 2014!
This holiday season I have been so busy. Since December 22, 2013 I have been super busy with family’s visits.
Although I have gone nowhere, but the time spent catering to them has taken all
my time away from God. In fact, I had to force myself to keep my blog updated because you guys have become my family too and
I felt the need to remain in contact with you. That was the extend of my computer
time. Mind you that I am not complaining
about being with families and taking care of them because this is all part of
living this life for His glory. But I feel the need to confess I have been so
busy that God had almost become an afterthought for me. Yes, I made sure even
while doing my chores I sang Christian songs
to keep me somewhat close to Him, but it is nothing when you consider there is
no time for real prayer and Bible reading to commune with the lover of my soul.
I had a break in between where there was no one around, but I found
myself cleaning up the place and by the time I finished I was so exhausted I
could not even remember my name. The next day the busyness started again with
unexpected family obligations and visits. For a moment I had some clarity of
mind and realized I did not pray at all that morning. Today I am back in my
groove and I said goodbye to the last family members and celebration time for
this holiday season, so this morning I was determined to go back to my God. The
first thing I did was opening my devotion book “My Utmost For His Highest!”
As I read today’s devotion, my heart broke. I realized, I used to
be this person with a determination of the will to be all that He wants me to
be so that in the last day I will not be ashamed of standing in front of Him. But,
for almost two weeks now, I failed Him and I was not this person at all. As I
repented and renewed my oneness with Him I became conscious two things: One was
the fact that it was so evident to me when we feel God so far away He never
moved. It is always us who drift away step by step to the point that sometimes
we find ourselves so far we do not even know how to come back because of the
distance we have travelled away from Him.
The second thing that I found out is how the Spirit of God went out
of His way to make me feel the difference. It was as if I had a welcome back home
type of greeting from Him and my soul was thirsty for it, yet in my busyness
the past two weeks, I did not even realize what I was missing. One of the
reasons I broke down was the fact that I could be without Him for so long and I
did not miss the intimacy because I was too busy and tired to miss Him. As the Spirit rejuvenated my soul, He also
made clear to me how God cannot talk to us intimately, if we are not right with
Him.
I started thinking about you guys right away and felt the need to
write this post. The truth is, I love my virtual family (you guys) very much
and in my heart I am living out a brotherly kind of love with you. Often time I
find myself looking forward to seeing you in heaven. I know that the truth in
our hearts will be revealed and you will find out how dear all of you are to me,
how much I care and how much I worry about some of you through reading perhaps
your Blogs or Facebook page, I have a good idea where you are at.
The point I am trying to make is that while I hate the idea of New
Year Resolution, I made one today and I want to ask you to join me in making
2014 a year where we truly exercise our will to truly look up to Him. I still
remember how my full surrender delighted His heart few years ago, I want this
closeness back and I want once again to delight His heart. (I am so needy when it comes to my Father’s approval.)
It is still vivid in my heart how I got there through the full surrender process
through His grace. So when you feel God brings you to the end of yourself, when
the road is so dark that you cannot find the strength to take one more step. When
the pruning season seems unbelievably long and hardships in this life surround
you to the point you can’t take the pain any longer, look up to Him.
How do you do it in the midst of a messy and painful life? Determine
to live not one day at the time, not even hours at the time but only the strength
to take the next step in and through Him. Oswald said ”An undue amount of
thought and consideration for ourselves is what keeps us from making that
decision, although we cover it up with the pretense that it is others we are
considering. When we think seriously about what it will cost others if we obey
the call of Jesus, we tell God He doesn’t know what our obedience will mean. Keep
to the point— He does know. Shut out every other thought and keep yourself
before God in this one thing only— my utmost for His highest. I am determined
to be absolutely and entirely for Him and Him alone.”
I know too well what Oswald meant here. What keeps us away from
giving our all, is the thoughts that we take into consideration as we work out
those what if scenarios. The only way to get His best for our lives is if we
learn to shut down those what if scenario and trust Him for the next step, the
next breath and the next flow of His divine grace. It is not about what
tomorrow will be or bring, but how we live the very moment He put us in as He
waits to see how we respond.
Paul did not lie to himself; he knew, God’s grace also demands that
we make a determination of the will to embrace His life, His holiness and His righteousness.
Make it a RESOLUTION TO LEAVE THE SHALLOW LIFE BEHIND! Let Christ
be magnified in your body whether by death or by life. Let Him be your all in
all!
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