Embrace the Within no. 167

“'When ye thought euill against mee, God disposed it to good, that he might bring to passe, as it is this day, and saue much people aliue. Feare not nowe therefore, I will nourish you, and your children: and hee comforted them, and spake kindly vnto them.”

Genesis 50:20-21 GNV

Bad situations do not need to lead to bad outcomes. Too often I trust in my judgment of a situation. I think things are really bad and there just doesn’t seem to be any good in the situation at all. Or sometimes I see something that looks spectacular and fail to see the danger within the situation. That all starts in trusting what I see as good or bad. And that goes back to the judgment made in the Garden of Eden. Rather than being obedient, Eve saw what was good and made her own heavily influenced decision. A lot of times I choose to make decisions about actions not based on what God has told me BUT through what I think is good. And sometimes I just stand there with a goofy look on my face and do nothing like Adam. Regardless of my choices, I can believe that God has a plan for everything to work out for the best.

Three years ago I was not convinced that nothing was going to work out for the best. I knew how the government playbook of influence and violence could work and I was convinced it was going to get a whole lot worse. BUT through all that fear and terror came a change. And I was called to step up even though I didn’t know how I was getting tapped to change. And that has meant a lot of physical, emotional, and spiritual change. It has meant a lot of change to my routines. It has meant a lot of change to my life. It has meant a lot of change to my appearance. It has meant a lot of change to my thoughts. It has meant a lot of changes to my decisions. It has meant a lot of changes in my diet. It has meant a lot of changes in my knowledge. It has meant A LOT too.

Joseph was sold into captivity, plagues come, famines spread throughout the land, sickness comes, all types of situations enter into our lives and we can sit around using our own judgment or we can trust in Him. And that is where the rubber really meets the road in my walk with the Lord. I can talk all day about how much I love Christ. I can post scriptures and talk about theology and doctrine and post memes and heart react and talk a good game BUT if I am not trusting in Him, if I don’t really live in His trust, then I am only fooling myself. I am not following God. I am a hypocrite.

And I have had enough of hypocrisy. There is plenty of hypocrisy in the world today. So, I am going to do my best, with His guidance, to not be another hypocrite. And that is a lot tougher some days than others. It is a lot easier to talk than to walk obediently. Because He never rests on working on me. I might get tired of working on me. I might feel like taking a little vacation from working on me. BUT He isn’t done with me yet.

I pray today that I stop trying to figure out for myself what is good and just walk in obedience. I pray that I listen when He speaks. I pray that I work to bring about what He wants. I pray that I follow Him and I don’t make my own decisions or just stand there with a goofy look on my face. I pray that my obedience is a beacon of hope to those in my home, my community, and my life. I pray that I take seriously my work as an Ambassador of His Kingdom as I walk obediently with Him each day.

Grace and Shalom to your home.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH

Embrace the Within no. 166

He also told them a parable: “Can a blind man guide [another] blind man? Will they not both fall into a hole in the ground? A student is not superior to his teacher; but everyone, after he has been completely trained, will be like his teacher. Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice or consider the log that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, allow me to take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite (play actor, pretender), first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.

Luke 6:39-42 AMP

Relationships are tough for us. I want to be in charge of every one and every thing around me. Well, not me personally, BUT humans want that control. And it is easy to see in how often folks try to micromanage every component of their day. I gave up that control a while ago. Way before the plague hit I gave up that control and started looking for the One who was in control.

BUT we can see this action a lot in ourselves and in others. We think that we have nothing more to learn. We think that we have got it all figured out. We think that we know better than our teachers or even God. We think that we are sinless and guiltless. We think that we are perfected already. We think that we have nothing more to work out before God. We think that we have plenty of time to point out the flaws of others rather than working on our own faults. We are hypocrites. We are pretending. We are lying.

I will tell you that every day is a struggle, as Paul wrote, “For I alow not that which I do: for what I would, that do I not: but what I hate, that do I. If I doe then that which I woulde not, I consent to the Lawe, that it is good. Nowe then, it is no more I, that doe it, but sinne that dwelleth in me” (Romans 7:15-17). I have a lot to work on just like Paul did. I don’t mean I am physically fighting myself all day BUT I still live in a world full of broken people and saturated with sin. And even though I am working on my righteousness, there are a lot of people not working on being righteous. There are a lot of folks that are working with the ones with whom I need to struggle because, again as Paul wrote, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, and against the worldly gouernours, the princes of the darkenesse of this worlde, against spirituall wickednesses, which are in ye hie places” (Ephesians 6:12). And I need to struggle against those spirits while I walk in the Spirit.

I pray that I focus on my Walk in the Way of the Lord. I pray that I am humble and teachable. I pray that I look to learn and not to micromanage. I pray that I give control to God to lead as I follow. I pray that I look at all I need to fix in my life. I pray that I work to fix those things with which I struggle. And I pray that He guides me to be a better a light, a better example, and a better Ambassador of His Kingdom. I pray that my work on attaining His righteousness on this side of eternity is a light to those in my home, my community, and my life. I pray that I take seriously my work as an Ambassador of His Kingdom as I walk with Him each day.

I love you. I forgive you. Have a blessed and abundant day!

#ThinkBetter #BeBetter #NoKingButChrist #EmbraceTheWithin #NotMyWayYHWH