"I don't live. I get things done. My life is entirely task oriented. I wake and pray, because if I don't pray, I get taken out by warfare. It's not leisurely prayer, it's purposeful prayer."*
This is so me. I just get things done. I blow through the day. I check off my tasks. Prayer - check (sometimes), Laundry - check, dinner - check, etc. I don't even think about things, I just get them done.
How did I get like this? How do I get "unlike" this? Isn't this the American dream? What we're all doing to live the "American life"? It sucks!
Jesus said "I have come to give you life, a full an abundant life." John 10:10.
Yes he came to give us eternal life. But there is more. He wants us to have a full and abundant life. But does that mean to blow through the day and get as much as I can get done? Even if some of those things are for his glory?
NO! It means to stop. Enjoy Him. Enjoy the beauty around me. Enjoy the silence. Talk to him. Be with him.
When I don't do this, I shut down. I shut down emotionally, mentally and sometimes physically. Because I am so busy blowing through the moment, day, week, month that I can't keep up with myself. So I blow up, burn out.
I know all of this. So why do I do it over and over and over and over again? Ahh the joy of being a human!
I am so so so thankful for a God who is patient and loving. Who waits for me every single time to come back to him. Who doesn't get mad at me like everyone else. Who isn't disappointed in me like everyone else. Who isn't frustrated with me like everyone else. He is only captivated by me. He loves me wholly, completely and abundantly. He will never ever give up on me or throw be under the bus.
I am such a blessed daughter of our God. I am loved by the King and it makes my heart want to sing.
*Taken from "Walking with God" by John Eldredge
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Saturday, November 7, 2009
He is here...
Something I've been pondering lately...
As a Christian, I have heard people pray "Lord please be with us/her/him/me..." I have prayed this way many times too. It becomes some sort of a catch phrase.
But something that I realized recently, he is with us. He is with us always. His dwelling place is our heart. "...so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Ephesians 3:17
He also promises never to leave or forsake us. "he will never leave nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6 and 8. The bible even states this twice within one passage.
So if he is already dwelling in us as believers, then why do we need to ask him to be with us. He already is with us. A word picture that came to me today was sitting in a room with your absolute best friend, but not talking to her or acknowledging her. Instead you say to the room, "Mary please be with me now!" even though she is sitting right there with you.
I read a quote recently from "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge. He says "Without your heart you cannot hope to find God, for the heart is his dwelling place. If you ignore your heart, it's like looking for him everywhere but at home." Oh this hit me this week too! I couldn't feel him or hear him until I realized that I had been ignoring my heart.
So what I should be doing instead is thanking him for being with me. And believing that he is with me, "Lord Jesus thank you for being with me in this moment. Thank you for not forsaking me."
But there will be moments that I don't feel like he is with me. So I need to pray that he helps me feels his presence. "Lord I need you now. Please help me feel your presence in this moment."
The enemy wants us to believe that he isn't really with us. He whispers those lies in our ears. He whispers to us that he has left us or that he never really was with us. Or sometimes even worse he whispers to us that he has forsaken us. But these are all lies and agreements that we make.
The bible doesn't lie. Nor is it a book of exceptions. He was, he is and is to come. He is here with me now and always. Thank you Jesus for being with me now in this moment....
As a Christian, I have heard people pray "Lord please be with us/her/him/me..." I have prayed this way many times too. It becomes some sort of a catch phrase.
But something that I realized recently, he is with us. He is with us always. His dwelling place is our heart. "...so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." Ephesians 3:17
He also promises never to leave or forsake us. "he will never leave nor forsake you." Deuteronomy 31:6 and 8. The bible even states this twice within one passage.
So if he is already dwelling in us as believers, then why do we need to ask him to be with us. He already is with us. A word picture that came to me today was sitting in a room with your absolute best friend, but not talking to her or acknowledging her. Instead you say to the room, "Mary please be with me now!" even though she is sitting right there with you.
I read a quote recently from "Waking the Dead" by John Eldredge. He says "Without your heart you cannot hope to find God, for the heart is his dwelling place. If you ignore your heart, it's like looking for him everywhere but at home." Oh this hit me this week too! I couldn't feel him or hear him until I realized that I had been ignoring my heart.
So what I should be doing instead is thanking him for being with me. And believing that he is with me, "Lord Jesus thank you for being with me in this moment. Thank you for not forsaking me."
But there will be moments that I don't feel like he is with me. So I need to pray that he helps me feels his presence. "Lord I need you now. Please help me feel your presence in this moment."
The enemy wants us to believe that he isn't really with us. He whispers those lies in our ears. He whispers to us that he has left us or that he never really was with us. Or sometimes even worse he whispers to us that he has forsaken us. But these are all lies and agreements that we make.
The bible doesn't lie. Nor is it a book of exceptions. He was, he is and is to come. He is here with me now and always. Thank you Jesus for being with me now in this moment....
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