Don’t feel like you have to lie to God. Do you feel like crying today? He doesn’t expect you to keep a “stiff upper lip” – CRY. Did you know that the Bible says in Psalm 56:8:
“You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book.”
I have never understood how Adam and Eve, when they sinned in the Garden of Eden, felt that they could hide what they did from God. GOD IS OMNIPOTENT. GOD SEES ALL THINGS. But you know what – we try to do the SAME thing. Hiding from God is a ridiculous waste of effort – you CANNOT hide from God. And the other thing is God doesn’t want you to hide.
If you sin – confess it to Him! Because of Jesus’ sacrifice (dying on the cross for forgiveness of our sins) He has made away for you to obtain forgiveness for your sins. I feel like this is important for even those of us who already know it to REMEMBER it, because guess what? We sin EVERY day… Oh yes! In some way, be it our words, our lifestyle, our attitude, how we treat people, how we treat ourselves – we sin. There are even sins that we commit unknowingly – so it is important for us to pray:
“Father if there is ANY evil within me, I pray that you remove it! I pray that if there is ANYTHING that needs changing within me, please forgive me and show me what needs changing… In Jesus’ name I pray. AMEN.”
GOD SEES YOU. GOD KNOWS YOUR HEART. GOD KNOWS WHERE YOU ARE AND WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH. HE KNOWS!
Every day there are things that we encounter or go through that may surprise us – but it doesn’t surprise Him. Things that happen to us (or loved ones) that we didn’t see coming… BUT GOD DID. Things that we think we just don’t have it in us to go on – that’s when we turn to HIM. We HAVE to lay it at the foot of His cross. There are burdens that we try to carry ourselves, that God did NOT mean for us to carry. Jesus even said in Matthew 11:28-29:
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Wisdom is knowing when to “Let go and let God.” This really is a matter of trust. Do we believe that if we come to God in prayer, that He hears us? That He will answer our prayers according to His good and perfect will?
You know, growing in Christ is a life-long process. It is one of change, one of growth. One in which (since you have given your life to Him, so your life no longer belongs to you but to Him) you will experience times of “refinement.” The only way I can compare what those feels like, is to compare it to this:
When I was a child, I had long hair, my mother would have me sit in a chair and tell me to hold my head still, I wanted to get up and go play or do something other than sitting there for what I knew would be a time of enduring “the comb” or “the brush.” I would sigh and do as I was being told, resigned to the fact that I didn’t have a choice, in order for me to be able to go and play, I would have to be obedient and go through the process of allowing Mom to do what she asked… My father had a saying, which still comes to mind this day, whenever I have to endure things I REALLY don’t want to endure. This quote below comes in the memory of my father, who has for the last 19 years resided in Heaven with Father God and it is words of humanly wisdom 🙂 :
“Do what you gotta, so you can do what you wanna…”
~ Compliments from one wise (currently-residing-with-God) man, Paul Silva Teixeira
Refinement hurts. It’s painful, but if you allow it – God does it to serve a purpose, the purpose is for you to go forward in Him. And as much as I hate to admit it (because even as you read these words, I am enduring in my life a time of “sitting on that chair that God has placed me on, enduring a spiritual brushing/combing out of my life that is extremely painful, but one that I know God must deem necessary for me to endure, and so in obedience – knowing WHO IT IS I BELONG TO, I endure. Because when He says to me:
“Okay Kelly, you can stand up now and look in the mirror to see what I have done.”
I will turn around and come out as gold. With the image of what He has made me be at this time in Him radiating the Holy Spirit. Because I have endured. I pray it will be the same with you).
Your steps, beloved are ordained BY GOD. We can choose to fight it, but if we do, it’s pointless, because if there is something God wants to work on in your life – because He loves you, Holy Spirit can be relentless, He will keep on you until you sit your behind in the chair of God and LET HIM do what it is that He knows needs doing in YOU.
I speak of what I know. I speak of what I have experienced. I speak of what the Bible tells us, God loves you too much for you to miss out on all He has for you. Even through tears. So CRY if you have to, YELL if you have to! But don’t yell at God – YELL TO GOD. Don’t stand with your legs spread apart in defiance, RUN straight into your Father’s arms and TELL HIM where it hurts! Tell Him because the truth is, He already knows… He just wants to hear it from you. He’s got you, even when He is refining you. And oh my dear reader, whatever it is you are going through, be it refinement or whatever – if you are looking to your Father, YOU WILL come out as gold. And when you do – I pray you will message me, and share it with me, so that I can rejoice in ALL God is doing in you, as I promise – I will share it with you with me (which is what ALL my posts are about) that we may rejoice in Him together! May God be glorified NOW and Forever. AMEN.
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