Steps in faith...
To the valley, for my soul,
Thy great descent has made me whole.
Your word my heart has welcomed home,
Now peace like water ever flows.
How do I seek You, Lord? Where do I find that peace and rest in You? What more do I need to do in my daily walk with You to know You more, love You more, serve You more?
I’ve been on this journey toward a more fluid Christ walk for some time now, at times so restless to find a place of content that will signal my heart, my mind, my soul, “Ah, yes, there it is. I have arrived!” I see this contentedness in others whose faith I have admired for so long, those who appear to have a deeper and more intimate connection with the Father than I do yet. Please don’t misinterpret what I’m getting at here, as I know it probably makes me sound as if somehow I am comparing myself as a Christian with other Christians who seem to have it far better than I at this point in my life. Not quite, and in fact, it is an admiration from afar I’d call it. I see the love of the Father, a boldness of faith, that is something I have a longing for. In my seeking, longing, quietness with the Father I find myself reflecting deeply by starting with this thought:
Thank you Jesus, for loving me and for Your purpose for me.
Years of life’s battles and the wounds and scars of some of the worst moments can truly clutter the pathway. I am finding all too often I got in my own way. And it isn’t over yet. I battle this daily. When I stop making excuses, too easily placing blame on something else or someone else, holding on much too tightly to something that hurt me so deeply I can’t seem to let it go and fully forgive, come to the very edge of my sanity and seek a place of solitude and clarity---that’s when it comes. Like a wave, a fresh awakening to the deepest part of me. Holy Spirit, flow through me and reveal the ugliest and most painful things buried in me, so that it may be washed away, swept clean to enable Your presence to flow freely and without interruption.
…the God who made you,
The One who got you started, *Andrea:
‘Don’t be afraid, I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name.
You are Mine!
(Isaiah 43:1-The Message Translation)
(*I love to personalize scripture by inserting my name. It is a great reminder of how God speaks to us through His Word.)
As I grow deeper in my search for God, seek out the presence of the Holy Spirit, I am finding He delights, He finds joy in the moments we lose ourselves in Him. When everything else is secondary, and we drop what we are doing to simply sit in His presence and breathe His name, tell Him we love Him, we need Him, we welcome Him, He does His best work on us. I am a work in progress, always will be, and that is hard to swallow. Why? Because I want to be at my best for Him, I don’t want to admit I’m weak and can’t handle something in my life. I want to be fully and completely His, useful and effective, not lacking in anything at any time. But that’s not fair to myself, and it isn’t being honest with myself either. If I’m honest, I find myself daily relinquishing myself, recognizing my flaws and accepting His loving purpose for me in spite of that. I am made perfect through Him. He has freed me from myself, He has washed me clean and made me right for His purpose. He will carry me, He will be faithful and true to me. For that, I could praise Him all day long, every single day, for as long as I shall live!
Praise the Father, Praise the Son,
Praise the Spirit, Three in One.
Clothed in power and in grace
The name above all other names.
Yours is the kingdom,
Yours is the power.
Yours is the glory forever!
(“Praise the Father, Praise the Son”, Chris Tomlin)
This journey is not nearly done, and as Christ followers we must come to this understanding more than once, that we will never fully comprehend our Father God, His Son Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit; but, we will have a greater and deeper faith walk as we continually seek after Him all of our days.
Where will you go in your journey with him today? Seek Him….welcome Him in….know He is here!
Thy great descent has made me whole.
Your word my heart has welcomed home,
Now peace like water ever flows.
How do I seek You, Lord? Where do I find that peace and rest in You? What more do I need to do in my daily walk with You to know You more, love You more, serve You more?
I’ve been on this journey toward a more fluid Christ walk for some time now, at times so restless to find a place of content that will signal my heart, my mind, my soul, “Ah, yes, there it is. I have arrived!” I see this contentedness in others whose faith I have admired for so long, those who appear to have a deeper and more intimate connection with the Father than I do yet. Please don’t misinterpret what I’m getting at here, as I know it probably makes me sound as if somehow I am comparing myself as a Christian with other Christians who seem to have it far better than I at this point in my life. Not quite, and in fact, it is an admiration from afar I’d call it. I see the love of the Father, a boldness of faith, that is something I have a longing for. In my seeking, longing, quietness with the Father I find myself reflecting deeply by starting with this thought:
Thank you Jesus, for loving me and for Your purpose for me.
Years of life’s battles and the wounds and scars of some of the worst moments can truly clutter the pathway. I am finding all too often I got in my own way. And it isn’t over yet. I battle this daily. When I stop making excuses, too easily placing blame on something else or someone else, holding on much too tightly to something that hurt me so deeply I can’t seem to let it go and fully forgive, come to the very edge of my sanity and seek a place of solitude and clarity---that’s when it comes. Like a wave, a fresh awakening to the deepest part of me. Holy Spirit, flow through me and reveal the ugliest and most painful things buried in me, so that it may be washed away, swept clean to enable Your presence to flow freely and without interruption.
…the God who made you,
The One who got you started, *Andrea:
‘Don’t be afraid, I have redeemed you.
I have called you by name.
You are Mine!
(Isaiah 43:1-The Message Translation)
(*I love to personalize scripture by inserting my name. It is a great reminder of how God speaks to us through His Word.)
As I grow deeper in my search for God, seek out the presence of the Holy Spirit, I am finding He delights, He finds joy in the moments we lose ourselves in Him. When everything else is secondary, and we drop what we are doing to simply sit in His presence and breathe His name, tell Him we love Him, we need Him, we welcome Him, He does His best work on us. I am a work in progress, always will be, and that is hard to swallow. Why? Because I want to be at my best for Him, I don’t want to admit I’m weak and can’t handle something in my life. I want to be fully and completely His, useful and effective, not lacking in anything at any time. But that’s not fair to myself, and it isn’t being honest with myself either. If I’m honest, I find myself daily relinquishing myself, recognizing my flaws and accepting His loving purpose for me in spite of that. I am made perfect through Him. He has freed me from myself, He has washed me clean and made me right for His purpose. He will carry me, He will be faithful and true to me. For that, I could praise Him all day long, every single day, for as long as I shall live!
Praise the Father, Praise the Son,
Praise the Spirit, Three in One.
Clothed in power and in grace
The name above all other names.
Yours is the kingdom,
Yours is the power.
Yours is the glory forever!
(“Praise the Father, Praise the Son”, Chris Tomlin)
This journey is not nearly done, and as Christ followers we must come to this understanding more than once, that we will never fully comprehend our Father God, His Son Jesus our Savior, and the Holy Spirit; but, we will have a greater and deeper faith walk as we continually seek after Him all of our days.
Where will you go in your journey with him today? Seek Him….welcome Him in….know He is here!
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