I was recently encouraged by several gems from Luke 1:5-17 as I meditated on God’s Word. There are great truths to be gleaned from this passage.
In this narrative, we find Zacharias and Elizabeth faithfully following the Lord and His ways. An area of lack remained in their lives despite this. Almost surprisingly, we discover that this lack was God-ordained! God had chosen this couple to bring forth John the Baptist–forerunner of Jesus–at just the right moment of time. Continue reading
How often do we search our hearts with the help of the Holy Spirit, seeking to know why we do what we do? Take the time, ask Him to shine the Light of His refining torch into your soul.
The things we do, do we do them to fulfill a need within us or because of wanting to share the love of God with others? For most of us, the answer will be both at times.
Each of us has longings. We all ache at times and seek to numb the pain through activity. We all experience emptiness that fuels what we do as we desire to be filled.
Christ wants to fill the emptiness. He wants to satisfy the ravenous wants we have as human beings. But it requires that we face the pain of not numbing ourselves.
We have to surrender the mindless actions we often undertake, such as repeatedly checking Facebook, sleeping away the day, or binge-watching the next new TV series. It requires that we cease doing things, even serving people, to try to grab onto anything to make us feel whole.
How often do we engage in activity for the sake of self over truly giving form an overflow of God’s love? At the least, we all love imperfectly. Each of us will be perfected in His love season by season as we grow in relationship with the Lord.
So what is Jesus wanting to work within us?
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Father God has given us each a free will. He has given us a beautiful choice to show love and honor to Him and others. Most often, we think we do this pretty well. Nonetheless, our hearts still contain impurities revealing self-focus and unhealed wounds.
Learned behaviors we thought were normal affect our daily lives. Ingrained habits plague us. We raise our voices at our children or siblings. We avoid those who rub us wrong. Or perhaps we find ourselves doing things to fulfill the need to be useful, or we assert ourselves wrongly to feel in control. Maybe we busy ourselves to avoid painful emotions.
Even in the many struggles we have, Father God is working to refine us into vessels of His love as we yield to Him.
We want to be ones who seek the heart of God, showing selfless love to all who we come near. Jesus confirmed this call. When asked about the most weighty of the Commandments, He said that loving God with all and loving others are the two from which all others stem (Matthew 22:36-40).
We realize our attempts to love remain tainted with self-serving. Showing love and honor is not automatic. Because of our tendencies toward selfishness and sin, we must seek to be intentional. We must be mindful of those around us.
If we ask, Father God will reveal ingrained behaviors and help us replace them with the fruits of the Holy Spirit. We must seek to be a blessing in every situation. It will take allowing Him to show us the depths of our souls.
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The journey of renewing our minds is a process. It doesn’t occur in a moment or two. It takes consistent, daily moments with Jesus over time. Nonetheless, it is one of the most beautiful parts of our journey with Him.
How can we do our part in this? By spending time with Christ in worship, prayer, and meditating on His Word.
Renewing our minds with God’s Word helps us grow in faith, hope, love and all the fruit of His Spirit. As we spend time studying and meditating on His Word, we will experience transformation through His truth and by His Spirit.
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”
– Romans 12:1-2 (NKJV)
Father God loves to set us free from lies we believe and wrong mindsets we struggle with. He wants to transform our perspective concerning Him, ourselves and others. He even wants to help us not be led by our emotions when they are about to lead us astray.
Do you need peace in your life, freedom from fear and anxiety, an attitude adjustment, or other things?
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“You sift and search out my path and my lying down, and You are acquainted with all my ways.” – Psalm 139:3 (AMPC)
Each day You know our path. You even search out every detail of it. You sift our path and our ways concerning each day. In this, You set aside those things which need not be a part of the day’s doings. You show us what is best according to Your perfect plans.
You are acquainted with all of us and all of our ways. You know best what each day should hold even when we try to take on too much or when we attempt to tackle things that need to wait.
Some days things do not go as planned. But in this, You desire for us to respond as Christ would, in patience and kindness. You desire for us to seek You in these moments for what You have in store.
“…in Your book all the days [of my life] were written before ever they took shape, when as yet there was none of them.” – Psalm 139:16 (AMPC)
Perhaps You have something else to pinpoint, to bring us to do. Perhaps You simply are trying to get our attention, or call us to simply rest. Maybe we aren’t abiding in Christ as we should, and we need to be aware of Your ever-present Holy Spirit within us.
It is not always easy, but You are working in us to fashion us into a reflection of Jesus, Your Son. As in a mirror, You desire us to reflect the beauty of His character and heart.
“And all of us, as with unveiled face, [because we] continued to behold [in the Word of God] as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are constantly being transfigured into His very own image in ever increasing splendor and from one degree of glory to another; [for this comes] from the Lord [Who is] the Spirit.” – 2 Corinthians 3:18 (AMPC)
What we focus on, what we spend time thinking about, is what we become most like. The people we hang out with most, we tend to be like over time. So may we want to be like Jesus, and spend much time beholding His loving heart, His kind tenderness, His perfect ways.
Help us yield to You even when You orchestrate our day differently than we originally had planned. Help us let go and follow Your lead. Help us to trust in You, our Good Shepherd. Help us to be still and know that You alone are God.
