Month: January 2022

The Art of Surrender

~ Observant Servant

Someone on twitter posted a thread not too long ago that really touched my heart. They were sharing a story of how a friend’s dog had escaped the groomer and ran away. The woman searched all that day into the night for her dog. It wasn’t until the next evening that she spotted him in the far off distance. She started to call him, running toward him but as soon as he recognized her, instead of coming to her he dropped down on his belly whining and crying, afraid to go to her. When she got to him, she found him with his fur all muddy and matted and covered in briars. He was so happy to see her that he urinated all over himself. She gathered him up hugging him and telling him over and over how she loved him so much. She kept saying “you are mine, you are safe now, I never gave up looking for you. You will never get lost again. I am going to take you home and clean you up.”

  This reminds me of the love of Jesus. We are so afraid to run to God, so dirty and traumatized by the world, but He has never given up His seeking to save us and to bring us home.

There are many people who state that they will turn to God when they feel like they have got their lives in order. They think that they must clean up themselves before approaching Him. The problem with this is that we are trying to fix things ourselves. We are relying on our own will power and even when we have a moment of clarity when it comes to all the wrong we have done in our lives, we try to make it right by doing “good works”.  We think that we have to get our lives completely cleaned up but we don’t realize that the enemy has put stumbling blocks in our way that make our lives even more of a mess. The enemy then fills us with guilt and condemnation because he knows that if he can keep us in this mindset, then we will be lost forever. He wants to keep us miserable and does not want us to realize the saving grace of the cross.

“There is no one righteous, no, not even one”
Romans 3:10

 The fact of the matter is that there is no way that we could ever make ourselves worthy of God. There is no amount of “good” we could ever do to be deserving of salvation. It is only through the shed blood of Christ that we are saved. It is a gift from God and there is nothing we can do to earn it. It is a gift freely given to those who repent and believe.

 “ I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”
John 14:6

Jesus wants you to come to him as you are. You don’t have to clean yourself up first. Once you truly repent and surrender, he will take on that task himself. He alone can, and will, purify you. He will give you a new life in him. When you come to him and truly give up everything to him, crying for him to heal the pain in your heart and clean up the mess you have made of your life by making wrong decisions and sinning against him, he hears you. He will gather you in his arms, comforting and soothing your soul. He will show you the things in your life that are toxic to you and he will help you to get rid of them. Anything that is unhealthy he will remove and replace with something that is so much better.  

Stepping out in Faith

~ Observant Servant

A Lesson in Building trust in the Lord

In my first week of knowing the Lord, He asked me if I would work for Him.

I was astonished.

Me? Work for God?

I remember feeling overwhelmed that He would even ask. And that’s exactly what He did. He asked. He did not demand or command as is His right. He asked me.

I babbled “yes, of course! I will do whatever you want, Jesus”. I didn’t know what this job entailed. I just knew that the One who set me free, the One who just saved my life, my heart and my soul, desired me. Despite my past, despite all the sins I had just confessed and begged forgiveness for, (and the sins I could not remember for there were too many to count; but He forgave them ALL.) This – He wanted me to work for Him. After I agreed, He gave me my task.

“Go tell others about me, tell them what I have done.”

It has been over a year since He first spoke those words to me. During that time, whenever I had doubts about if He really wanted me to do this, or doubts in myself as to actually being able to do this, I would pray, asking for confirmation. The enemy was attacking me big time in this manner.

In His faithfulness, patience, endless mercy and grace, He always answered my prayers with His confirmation in various ways.

Four month’s into being a new believer, He led me to a small group that had the same passion to share the Gospel. Once I met them, I knew I had found my new family in Christ. Shortly after meeting them, the pastor sent me a video by Eric Ludy called The Gospel. In the video, I heard nearly the same conversation that I had with Jesus in my heart four months prior. I was blown away. He showed me in dreams that this was my calling and even later He began to show others in their dreams.

 Most recently the enemy caused me to doubt again, but God is so good. He led me to Jeremiah chapter one and gently reminded me of the ways he has orchestrated everything leading up to this point. He continues to lead me and provide for me even this very day. God is great. He is bountiful in His mercy and Grace. His patience is abundant.

I am blessed and honored that the Lord God has given me such a task. I will end this post with these few verses the Lord has put in my heart.

“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. but truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” – Psalm 66:16-20

“But you, dress yourself for work, arise and say to them everything that I command you. Do not be dismayed by them, lest I dismay you before them. And I, behold, I make you this day a fortified city, an iron pillar, and bronze walls, against the whole land, against kings of Judah, and it’s officials. They will fight against you, but they shall not prevail against you, for I am with you, declares the Lord.” – Jeremiah 1:17-19

                                                                    

“And  I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom for I have decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling and my speech and message were not in plausible words of wisdom but in demonstration of the spirit and of power so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” – 1 Corinthians 2:1-5