“Cause my heart to bow before Your words of wisdom and not to the wealth of this world. Help me turn my eyes away from illusions so that I pursue only that which is true; drench my soul with life as I walk in your paths.” Psalms 119:36-37 TPT.
Let’s daily give the Lord permission to change our hearts, our minds, plus the way we choose to walk, and what we look at. This life is filled with a whole lot of time-wasting illusions – I’ve found that very little turns out to be exactly what I thought it would be … how about you? Illusions seem to be occupying our children’s minds and hearts, so this Psalm could be a good one to pray over your kids. However, we read the bible, choose to bow our hearts, and wait and watch to see what He has to say, and then treat it like medicine by following what it says under the Holy Spirit’s guidance. That’s what obedience looks like.
The bible is not a irrelevant old book, it is the wisdom of the ages. It has been tested and retested over time, in other people’s lives and their experiences. We have witnesses everywhere in that book! Let’s remind ourselves that we cannot afford to focus on the fact that once we were yoked to a yoke of slavery, but now the past is gone. It died when we chose to die, and it happened when we asked Him to save us. Total commitment is not an optional extra. After all, there were no part-time disciples! The ones who followed Jesus walked away from their old lives.
The minute we choose to live for Him, and put to death the deeds of the flesh that hinder us, we go on a death-to-self march. You will notice I refuse to sugar-coat what it costs! That”s because it’s a choice, and it’s a tough one! But, the more we say yes to His way, and follow through on our ‘yes’, the easier it gets. Many of us have spent much of our lifetime struggling and striving to be heard and seen, and now, because of Who He is, we’ve chosen to let all that go. Instead of proving our point, we choose to prove He is Lord. In these dark days we need to say ‘yes’ to dying to self, with the full understanding that the life we once lived for ourselves, is gone.
Our part is to live this life, the only one we now have, the Way God Himself prescribes in the bible. Father God is constantly speaking to our hearts on every page of His book, regarding all sorts of difficulties, situations, and unhappy people. His words are now our life blood, they are so firm we can stand on them: “Surrender your anxiety. Be still and realize that I am God. I am God above all the nations, and I am exalted throughout the whole earth.” Psalms 46:10 TPT. This is true clarity.
So, obeying this means, we choose to give up our anxiety in favour of knowing He is God. BTW if we feel anxious, that does not mean we have failed – it means we are under enemy attack. Everything that happens to us, is Father-filtered, even if it seems earth-shattering. I’ve had some of that stuff lately … panic has grabbed me by the throat. But I know I will find His peace when I prayerfully give up the right to defend myself, and walk away from conflicts. I may often feel rejected, but the God of the Universe has not, and will not ever reject me. “… He knows the way that I take [and He pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I will come forth as [refined] gold [pure and luminous].” Job 23:10. We’re going for the gold folks!
This world around us loves to live in grey areas, but personally, I think grey areas produce grey people. We are designed to be like our Saviour, full of love, life and colour! We don’t just talk positively, we are positively convinced that: “ … I know Him [and I am personally acquainted with Him] whom I have believed [with absolute trust and confidence in Him and in the truth of His deity], and I am persuaded [beyond any doubt] that He is able to guard that which I have entrusted to Him until that day [when I stand before Him].“ 2 Timothy 1:12. I urge you to pick verses like this one up like a sword and use them to fight with whatever is going on. For me that comes out like this: “I know my God and He’s got this!”
Choosing to deny ourselves is not the end of anything. It means we now have the opportunity to come alive to His POV – those things that are a theory can become a reality. When love reigns, we are to be occupied with spreading His love wherever we go. We no longer have to live in this world’s grey, grabby, me first attitudes and actions any more. We can add colour and beauty everywhere we go because we choose to carry His love. What a sacred duty! Living like this is a by-product of our relationship with Him. Those people around us can be refreshed, revived, and have their lives utterly touched and transformed because they’ve met the love of God through us.
We don’t have to be the source, Jesus Himself is our source. But we’ve chosen to make room for Him to reach out to others through our lives, and as we do that, He will change our life at the same time. We don’t have to be fabulous, famous or clever to drip the love of God onto others – we can do it because we know Him personally. Death to self is not an optional extra it is the point. Our bible is merely a book, but when the Holy Spirit kisses something in it, that book becomes the Words of life. Bye. 👋.
