It’s been a few weeks since I have had the energy to put together a post. I have learned that writing a blog is something that takes time and purpose. I want my words to mean something. I journal almost every day and there are many days where I think, “Maybe I should write this one on the blog.” Then the day gets away from me and I never get around to it. I think in part that is God saying, maybe not yet, and in part it is life getting in the way of what is most important. So, today, I went back through all of my journal writings from the past weeks since I started school. I finally have some energy and for some reason, this one I wrote a few days ago just feels important. It feels like God didn’t want only me to hear what He had to say and it all began with this bible verse:
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7
If you continue reading on in 1 Peter 5, Paul mentions the enemy and how we are to resist him by standing firm in the faith. I think that is part of why I felt this particular journal so necessary to write. Because, there it is, laid out in plain sight. I believe the work the devil is doing in us right now, in bringing separation and angst between us all, is this concept. He makes us believe that we are perfect, that we are the answer, that we alone can “fix” whatever it is that’s broken. The devil enlists us all to be “empowered by ourselves.” We trust ourselves too much, we so to speak, put all of the apples in our own basket. We turn away from God and believe in ourselves. We put things to fit our perspective, our narrative, and our goals. We become prideful and self-focused as we go about life this way. We forget that we are human, that we can’t do it all, save it all, fix it all. We forget about our friends and family along the way. Although we set out to do the right thing, we end up far from what God intended. And yet again, the enemy has worked his evil way to gain more separation out of God’s people; by simply making us believe in ourselves, believe that we can do it on our own.
Now, don’t get me wrong, I am all for believing in ourselves, for being confident and empowered, but where are those traits coming from? Because no matter how well-intentioned they are, if they are not rooted in God, in who He says you are, then they are rooted in the things of this world. And you will come up empty, with the bottom fallen out, every time. The things of this world, they are temporary and I’ll be the first to tell you, I can’t do any of it alone. And God didn’t intend for us to. It is all over the bible, He tells us that He is with us; that His love is always with us.
And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:5
It is out of His love, out of what Jesus did on the cross (But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:8) that he boldly asks us to humble ourselves, time and time again. Because when we do, when we give it all to God and humble ourselves before Him, we are letting His work be done in us. When we stand firm in the faith as Paul calls us to do, the enemy cannot break through. We surrender our plans, our worries, our fears, our need to “fix it all,” and we let Him come in. We allow God to be enough, to fill us with peace and strength. And it is then, when we do this, that God can begin the good work in all of us, to bring us all to unity under His name. Where we lose the world, yet gain eternal life and the fruit of the spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Galatians 5:22-23
So, will you humble yourself today? Will you bring your cares and anxieties to God? I will. Because I know that no matter what I am facing, no matter what the world is facing: BUT, GOD!
Radical Road 