Monday, October 24, 2011

Monday Morning Devotion #305

“And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).

Over the past two years, the Lord has really been dealing with bondage in my life…Habitual sins that lingered across the years as well as very dark areas of my life that I tried to “tuck away” and forget. God knows exactly what we need and HE is so faithful and gracious to give us our needs. I used to believe that this verse in Philippians applied only to our physical needs. God has been revealing to me that while HE does care about our physical needs and HE is faithful to meet each of those needs at perfect moment, HE is more concerned with our spiritual needs.

I would like to share an article with you that I wrote for our Church’s Newsletter. God continues to bring this truth back to me every time I try to “tuck away” my sin instead of allowing God to deal with it in the light of His Word:

In our Ladies’ Sunday School class as well as the Deaf Ladies’ Bible study, we have been learning to Seek God and to Become a Woman after God’s Own Heart. God has been teaching us that HE is sovereign and HE knows each of us better than we know ourselves. HE can see the depth of our despair and HE alone can reach to the very depth of whatever pit we may be dwelling, rescue us, clean us from the inside out, and make us into a new creation…Free, whole, complete, and pleasing to Him! HE does this through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Scripture tells us that “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8) and that Christ came that we might “have life and have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

His desire to give me abundant spiritual life is the reason that God has been so diligent to deal with my heart regarding the past. Through Scripture, I am now able to see that blocking memories was an attempt to free myself from sin. I was a sinner in need of a Savior but I spent most of my life trying to be my own savior. I have allowed fear, anxiety, shame, and guilt to control me but Christ came to remove that burden! “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

I love the testimony of King David because it is a picture of an imperfect man being transformed into a “Man after God’s own heart” (see 1 Samuel 13:14). David sinned against the Lord many times in his life and he often allowed fear to guide his decisions; however, David’s life bears the imprint of the Lord God. God loved David and drew him to Himself. God molded and shaped David through the circumstances in his life and David emerged a mighty man of God. My Friend, do you realize that God can mold and shape you into the man/woman HE created you to be? No matter where you have been, no matter what you have done, no matter what has been done to you, Christ blood cleanses you from all unrighteousness. Christ’s blood has the power to make a new life out of lives that have been destroyed, marred, and ravaged by sin. I know this is true because this is exactly what Christ did for me! God looked upon my helpless state and HE poured out His grace, His mercy, and His forgiveness and HE alone made me new.

The Lord works in our lives according to our individual needs. For me, I needed to face my past by walking through all those memories that I had suppressed for years. The way that God chose to do this was by giving me the opportunity to share my “life story” with our small group. In the process of preparing to share, the Lord allowed me to view my past through the backdrop of Scripture. HE gave me eyes to see Him in the midst of all that pain and shame. I am utterly amazed by God’s grace, mercy, forgiveness, and love! God allowed me to experience Him in a brand new way.

I have no idea what you may be facing today, but I want to encourage you to seek God. Be open to the work HE wants to do in your life, even if that work seems painful at the time. HE loves you and HE desires to set you free. HE is trustworthy and HE will never forsake you. Scripture tells us that Satan “walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8). My Friend, Satan will continue to whisper lies into your ear hoping that you will believe those lies and turn from God’s truth. Satan desires to destroy us but God desires to transform us into the image of Christ and to give us abundant life through Him. Like King David, our lives can bear the imprint of the invisible God. We can be a reflection of His absolute power and authority. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” (2 Corinthians 5:8).