You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January, 2006.
The first couple weeks of this semester proved a bit tricky for me…not because my classes were difficult, but because I was having a hard time getting back into the flow of things. As Friday morning rolled around, I became overwhelmed. After leaving school early, I decided to go to Starbucks to pray and try to sort things out. God decided to stop by, and answered my prayer for guidance. As I sat at one of the tables, I started to write down what God was speaking to me….
Psalm 73:26
26My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
First, He pointed out that I was behaving similarly to the way I was before I allowed Him into my life. I had become lazy, was skipping classes, and the work I was managing to get done was not of the highest caliber. After pointing this out, He reminded me of how those symptoms had been remedied before: He had created motivation. As I had begun to form a relationship with Jesus, I started to desire to please Him with my life. My slothfulness soon disappeared, and the quality—as well as quantity—of my work increased dramatically. Accordingly, this led to much improved grades, as well as a boosted self-esteem. I had discovered I was able to attain more than mediocrity, that I wasn’t just another miserable, lethargic teen. Entirely capable of doing well before, I lacked a very simple, yet crucial element to success: motivation. God did away with my weakness (laziness) by providing me with His strength (motivation). This system of God becoming the ruler of our faults is what transforms us into who He made us to be, and ultimately, a more accurate reflection of Christ.
God did not create us with weakness to torment our souls, but when depending on Him, revolutionize them.
John 15:5
5“I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.
God continued on to explain (in depth) precisely how He works into my gift for Composition. You see, the chief problem I have when writing is I consistently have a hard time figuring out what to write about; I lack inspiration. God revealed to me that He gave me that weakness for a reason: so I would depend on Him to supply the creativity I require. Writing apart from Him often proves to be tedious, and frankly, not in the least bit enjoyable. Only when I let God function through me does my gift become truly worthwhile, being utilized in the manner in which it was intended.
God did not equip us with aptitudes so we could blow our horns off to the world, but when coupled with Him, revolutionize it.
About change:
- In the beginning, we were directly connected with God
- Sin destroyed that link
- Jesus made it possible to cross the chasm that sin created between man and God
- When we are near Him, sin in our life is identified
- As we learn to trust Him more, we allow Him to fill more of our weaknesses
- This system of reliance refines our talents, and motivates us to abolish sin
- A conversion into who we were meant to be does not immediately follow being “born-again”; it occurs slowly, as we gradually draw closer and closer to God
2 Corinthians 12:9
9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.
I am writing this minutes after seeing King Kong:
During the movie, I was really touched by how much Kong went through to keep the girl, Anne, safe from harm. While I watched bullets tear into his flesh and dinosaur jaws sink into his skin, it donned on me that I was observing a very real representation of Christ’s amazing, sacrificial love. Though going through tremendous amounts of pain, Kong kept reaching out for Anne…taking blow-after-blow to keep her secure. Does that sound familiar at all? Someone partaking in unbearable amounts of torture, for the tiny chance his friend might survive? All while the ones afflicting him were also part of the very populace he was enduring so much for to save? Despite the fact King Kong wasn’t attempting to offer salvation to his attackers, we all know which King was.
After witnessing Kong’s awesome power and strength, Anne’s immediate reflex was to get as far away from the gorilla as possible. Inevitably, this action led to her finding herself in far greater danger than she was previously in. After repeatedly stumbling back into the King’s care, she finally came to the realization he meant her no harm; at last, she had put her faith in Kong. This act enabled him to guard her much more diligently, no longer having to constantly rescue her from the messes she frequently blundered directly into. She stayed close by him, wrapped in his loving arms…or in this case…humongous fingers.
So why don’t we stop running away from God, being scared of what He might ask us to do…and just put our faith in Him?
And yes, I just compared the Creator of the universe to a giant monkey. :)
Sometimes I love being me.
