Worthiness: Truth and Lies Part II

This blog started out as an update to Truth and Lies; however, I felt God speaking some serious truths worthy of a new post.

The spark that made me realize that I was buying into the lies was the statement "I'm not WORTHY of that, yet." The moment I spoke those words out loud (in my car) a light bulb went off. Worthiness is a condition humans will always aspire to, and never achieve.

We are called, as disciples of Christ to be like Him. The goals that I mentioned in Truth and Lies are all worthy goals. They are goals that get me out of bed early in the morning to seek God, read His word, and pray. They are goals that propel me out the door into life outside my bedroom. But they are goals. They are not conditions that make me in any way "worthy". There is nothing I can DO to make me worthy of His love, His grace, and His mercy. There is no worthy outside of Christ. Jesus was my perfect sacrifice because I could never be worthy enough for His blessings, especially when I try to act in my own power. Only my faith in Christ and my acknowledgment that He is Lord makes me worthy.

As a disciple, I am called to obedience. I am held accountable for the light God gives me. I fall short every time my will is not aligned with that of my Master. I can always tell when my will is trying to take over God's. I start rationalizing why I am behaving this way, or thinking that way. My inner self becomes completely conflicted and I start an internal dialogue that begins with "BUT"... But what? But I WANT it!! Yes, and just like every good parent, God knows not just what I WANT, but what is GOOD for me. He will withhold NO GOOD thing from me. It is time to be STILL, to know He is God. To know HE knows best, and allow Him to speak truth and love into my life. This is why staying in the Word is so important. Staying in the Word allows me to recognize the lies of Satan, battle these lies, and submit completely to the Spirit much more quickly.

If you are fighting these battles I have a few suggestions:
1. Read the Word daily.
2. Journal. Even if you just write down the scripture you read today. Writing helps clarify thoughts, and retain information. It takes discipline to do it every day, but it is worth the sacrifice of time.
3. Get an accountability partner. Someone you can trust to speak truth into your life when you are struggling with the lies. Someone who will pray with you, over you, and challenge the thought process that causes you to buy into the lies.
4. If you are NOT part of a body of Christ, find one. Now. The Bible tells us that Satan comes as a roaring lion, seeking to devour. You all know that lions prey on the weak. The weak are always easily spotted because they are alone. When the weak become part of a herd, the herd will move to protect the weak by surrounding it. The church is your herd. When you are in the body of Christ, the body surrounds you and helps protect you from the attacks the lion will attempt to make.

Things of this world will never fulfill us. Only in Christ are we satisfied. I take this truth for myself: In Christ, I am complete. He is enough.

Jesus loves you. He is passionate about you. He will never leave you, or forsake you. In Him, you are beautiful, you are passionately loved, you are worthy.

Unspeakable Joy... Probably longest post ever

I'm sitting here in my candlelit bedroom listening to Chris Tomlin on iTunes...If you haven't gotten it, I strongly recommend his Glory in The Highest Christmas album. I love his new version of Joy to the World. Maybe its because I've been through so much heartache recently, and now I'm coming out of that heartbreak into a brand new me, and that chorus just expresses it so clearly.

I was pretty shocked when God called me out of First Baptist Lutz. Shocked, heartbroken and just plain flummoxed. I thought that the stability of that church was exactly what I needed, so I didn't understand His plan in having me leave. Here's the sequence of events:

1. I cleared my schedule to spend as much time as possible with the youth, but I wasn't seeing clearly where I was supposed to be there.
2. I started looking for a place to live in Lutz, but wasn't feeling it. Something just kept holding me back from committing to an apartment.
3. I began to clearly see that as much as I loved the youth, I wasn't supposed to be there.
4. I was told on no uncertain terms to get into Divorce Care. It was the one thing I had been avoiding since Chris left. I don't know why. Possibly because I didn't even want to acknowledge that I was divorced.
5. Being told I had to go to Divorce Care quite frankly ticked me off. But I respected the person who told me that enough to stop and examine it. I started looking for recovery classes in the area. I was supposed to be in class at USF on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and church Wednesday nights, which left Mondays. I'm not good when I'm running every night. Not having down time stresses me out beyond belief. I fasted and prayed that Saturday. I found a Tuesday Night recovery class at The Crossings. "God," I said, "If I'm supposed to attend THIS divorce care, let me find an online class at USF that I need to take." I found the last seat in an exit course.
6. That night I texted a friend of mine because I wanted to talk. She was on her way out the door to attend her church. I decided to meet her there.
7. The pastor changed the sermon. I knew I was in trouble. At first I was thinking about how awesome his vision was, and what a great church. Then I heard these words, like a lightening bolt: "I have this press for PRAYER, and I'm taking YOU ALL WITH ME!!" The one thing I KNOW I've been called to is Prayer. I thought "O NO! But God, if you move me away from Lutz, I'll feel like I'm in exile!" Just then the pastor read Jeremiah 24:6. He said "I will bring you back from exile and your fruit will be TWICE as sweet!" I turned to my friend. "Do you still need a roommate?" I asked. She'd only been asking me to move in for six months. She grabs her journal and shows me where she wrote Psalm 118. Next to it she wrote "NO FEAR". Just then the Pastor reads it over the pulpit. I'm not sure how God could have been any clearer.
8. I moved in on 10/31/2009. On November 1 I open Oswald Chamber's My Utmost for His Highest and read this:

There is no such thing as a private life -- "a world within a the world" -- for a man or a woman who is brought into fellowship with Jesus Christ's sufferings. God breaks up the private life of His saints, and makes it a thoroughfare for the world on the one hand and for Himself on the other. No human being can stand that unless he is identified with Jesus Christ. We are not sanctified for ourselves, we are called into the fellowship of the gospel, and things happen which have nothing to do with us, God is getting us into fellowship with Himself. Let Him have His way; if you do not, instead of being of the slightest use to God in His Redemptive work in the world, you will be a hindrance and a clog.

The first thing God does with us is to get us based on rugged Reality until we do not care what becomes of us individually as long as He gets His way for the purpose of His Redemption. Why shouldn't we go through heartbreaks? Through those doorways God is opening up ways of fellowship with His Son. Most of us fall and collapse at the first grip of pain; we sit down on the threshold of God's purpose and die away of self-pity, and all so-called Christian sympathy will aid us to our death bed. But God will not. He comes with the grip of the pierced hand of His Son, and says -- "Enter into fellowship with Me; arise and shine." If through a broken heart God can bring His purposes to pass in the world, than thank Him for breaking your heart.

Thank you for breaking my heart, Abba Father. I trust you with my past, present and future. My life is yours. Take it, and do what you will. Your dreams for me are so much better than mine for myself.

Moving was the right decision. I love my home, my church, my new friends and my old friends. I am exactly where I'm supposed to be, doing exactly what I'm supposed to be doing. That gives me unspeakable joy!


Next post: Lifegroups


(((((HUGS)))))

G