From Danger to Refuge
In the previous stage of transition in my life, I spent the entire time, in denial. Unable to accept the things that were happening.Until then, I was in control, I chose what I wanted and did. The very thought of stepping into a life, that was way different from my aspirations put me in tremendous anxiety.
Yet another transition now, this time; its not denial but reflection.
And I just made a very frightening observation...
I have been living a very dangerous life.
DANGER #1 Instead of drawing a sense of fulfillment and joy out of my relationship with God, I have been using broken and cracked pits, even some 'spiritual' ones that I've made for myself.
My longings are the most powerful part of my personality. It drives me forward, shapes my thinking and fuels my enthusiasm to stay alive.
The things that I long for, do 2 things to me ; they give me a great deal of personal satisfaction and challenge the growth and maturity of my spiritual life.
One of the things that I long for, is to communicate God's heart through the written word.Though, I am nothing but a terrible amateur; each time I finish a writing piece, I feel so elated and blessed. But recently, I was wondering, what if I can't write ? what if someone stops me from writing ? what if a career comes in between ? what if I stop receiving that divine spark..???
Will I still be happy and satisfied..?
Was I wrong in enjoying the fact that I can write ? Ofcourse not. What was wrong was depending on that for fulfillment.
We all have foolish strategies disguised as noble motives, that we depend on, to fulfill God's plan for our life. Instead of finding our security and significance in God, we try to find them in our own efforts.
Jeremiah 2:13 (CEV)
You, my people, have sinned in two ways-- you have rejected me, the source of life-giving water, and you've tried to collect water in cracked and leaking pits dug in the ground.
Are you depending on anything else like a good career,a bright academic record, a fruitful ministry or a happy relationship for fulfilment ? Then you are living a dangerous life.
DANGER #2 I sometimes get caught up pursuing lesser goals than God and His Glory. Many legitimate objectives of my life (like education, excellence ,missions or even service) sometimes override the priority that I give for God and His honor.
Charles Colson, the one time assistant of President Richard Nixon, went to prison due to his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Later he surrendered his life to Christ Jesus. He is famous for his unique ways of presenting his clear grasps on God. In his book Loving God, he writes, "There seems to be a desire in many of today's Christians, to be more interested in finding themselves than in finding God."
Eccl 3:11(NIV)
...He has also set eternity in the hearts of men...
I think that the thing which brings more pain to God is the fact that His children settle for superficiality.I have God in my intelligence but the world is in my heart. This is evident when I sometimes compromise on my eternal goals.When I think that I am the centre of God's plan, instead of giving His will priority over mine.
It took me some time to understand that God's will and plan is not just the 'best'thing out there, but it is the only thing that will establish my identity. If I end up doing anything else, my life would rot away and I'd just be an unsatisfied, unhappy wanderer.
What if God were to say to you today, that the goals that you have for your life, are not in His mind ? Will you be able to take that ?
DANGER #3 I don't find worth in who I am but in what I do.
While I was evaluating my Christian life, I realized that my condition is not bad enough that I need counseling, but also not good enough that I can call it an abundant life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). I react with anger or guilt or spend my days in fear and anxiety. I am not the kind who can say with Ezra: "The joy of the Lord is my strength".
Thus came the painful realization, that I was really paying lip service to God but depending more on my ego strength than spiritual power to progress ahead in my journey.I never experience satisfaction or devastation either. I am just holding myself together. How different is my life from the rest of the world?
God bases your worth not on your performance, but in who you are in Christ.When we assimilate this , we'll have the joy that was meant only for His children. A joy that will never decrease.
Colossians 2:10(NKJV)
...and you are complete in Him...
.
Do emotions of worthlessness take over you often because you don't perform very well? Instead of learning from your mistakes, do you think that your life has no value at all?
Every period of transition makes you a little uncomfortable.And it is common to think that what you're going through is the most difficult phase of your life. But the truth is, that in every step up ; your journey has its own share of trouble and pain.
In the previous stage of transition in my life, I spent the entire time, in denial. Unable to accept the things that were happening.Until then, I was in control, I chose what I wanted and did. The very thought of stepping into a life, that was way different from my aspirations put me in tremendous anxiety.
Yet another transition now, this time; its not denial but reflection.
And I just made a very frightening observation...
I have been living a very dangerous life.
DANGER #1 Instead of drawing a sense of fulfillment and joy out of my relationship with God, I have been using broken and cracked pits, even some 'spiritual' ones that I've made for myself.
My longings are the most powerful part of my personality. It drives me forward, shapes my thinking and fuels my enthusiasm to stay alive.
The things that I long for, do 2 things to me ; they give me a great deal of personal satisfaction and challenge the growth and maturity of my spiritual life.
One of the things that I long for, is to communicate God's heart through the written word.Though, I am nothing but a terrible amateur; each time I finish a writing piece, I feel so elated and blessed. But recently, I was wondering, what if I can't write ? what if someone stops me from writing ? what if a career comes in between ? what if I stop receiving that divine spark..???
Will I still be happy and satisfied..?
Was I wrong in enjoying the fact that I can write ? Ofcourse not. What was wrong was depending on that for fulfillment.
We all have foolish strategies disguised as noble motives, that we depend on, to fulfill God's plan for our life. Instead of finding our security and significance in God, we try to find them in our own efforts.
Jeremiah 2:13 (CEV)
You, my people, have sinned in two ways-- you have rejected me, the source of life-giving water, and you've tried to collect water in cracked and leaking pits dug in the ground.
Are you depending on anything else like a good career,a bright academic record, a fruitful ministry or a happy relationship for fulfilment ? Then you are living a dangerous life.
DANGER #2 I sometimes get caught up pursuing lesser goals than God and His Glory. Many legitimate objectives of my life (like education, excellence ,missions or even service) sometimes override the priority that I give for God and His honor.
Charles Colson, the one time assistant of President Richard Nixon, went to prison due to his involvement in the Watergate scandal. Later he surrendered his life to Christ Jesus. He is famous for his unique ways of presenting his clear grasps on God. In his book Loving God, he writes, "There seems to be a desire in many of today's Christians, to be more interested in finding themselves than in finding God."
Eccl 3:11(NIV)
...He has also set eternity in the hearts of men...
I think that the thing which brings more pain to God is the fact that His children settle for superficiality.I have God in my intelligence but the world is in my heart. This is evident when I sometimes compromise on my eternal goals.When I think that I am the centre of God's plan, instead of giving His will priority over mine.
It took me some time to understand that God's will and plan is not just the 'best'thing out there, but it is the only thing that will establish my identity. If I end up doing anything else, my life would rot away and I'd just be an unsatisfied, unhappy wanderer.
What if God were to say to you today, that the goals that you have for your life, are not in His mind ? Will you be able to take that ?
DANGER #3 I don't find worth in who I am but in what I do.
While I was evaluating my Christian life, I realized that my condition is not bad enough that I need counseling, but also not good enough that I can call it an abundant life. "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly" (John 10:10). I react with anger or guilt or spend my days in fear and anxiety. I am not the kind who can say with Ezra: "The joy of the Lord is my strength".
Thus came the painful realization, that I was really paying lip service to God but depending more on my ego strength than spiritual power to progress ahead in my journey.I never experience satisfaction or devastation either. I am just holding myself together. How different is my life from the rest of the world?
God bases your worth not on your performance, but in who you are in Christ.When we assimilate this , we'll have the joy that was meant only for His children. A joy that will never decrease.
Colossians 2:10(NKJV)
...and you are complete in Him...
.Do emotions of worthlessness take over you often because you don't perform very well? Instead of learning from your mistakes, do you think that your life has no value at all?
Such a thought pattern, will allow a huge range of negative emotions to take over . Remember your worth is in, who you are in Christ.
DANGER #4 Not knowing God enough that we can understand His magnificent love.
Recently in a communion service, God confronted me about my nature of grumbling. The words that brought me to my knees was this, "Grumbling and Complaining is a symptom of ungratefulness."
I asked God for forgiveness and told Him that I'd rather not have anything at all than to be called an ungrateful daughter. I said, "God, teach me to love you enough".
But recently, the Master taught me that I cannot manufacture love towards Him. My love towards Him is a consequence of His love towards me, "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19). Selwyn Hughes says, "Our problem is not that we don't love God enough, the problem is that we don't realize How much God loves us".
In the fiction, The Shack, William P Young writes; "So many believe that it is love that grows, but it is knowing that grows and love simply expands to contain it. Love is just the skin of knowing".
We don't usually doubt God's power or His authority. We all know that He is Almighty God capable of doing mighty things in our life. But during periods of exhaustion, we don't doubt his power but His love. If the devil can succeed to make us believe that God does not love us enough, then you're already in his track, with time he'll be directing your life and influencing your decisions.
Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)
..pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Do you spend enough time getting to know God ?
Maybe you too are in a transition like me, with a head full of dreams and a heart full of God. I encourage you to wait, for a moment and receive some inner strength from the Source. My dad often says, "If you have one full day to cut a tree, spend half a day sharpening the axe".
The greatest privilege in my life, is to be able to be picked up by God and given the grace to receive Him into my life. When I received Christ Jesus as my personal saviour, He did not just give me something to make my life better, but I received Christ Himself to think, feel and choose in my life.
But most of the time, I fail to experience the life that He wants me to have and depend
on my foolish strategies for fulfilment ,
on my lesser goals for honour ,
on my performance to evaluate my worth and
on my own capacity to love my Creator God.
This kind of living is dangerous, because it makes me a candidate to a whole range of negative emotions that could take over any time.
So I've decided to
depend on my relationship with God for fulfillment ,
to never override my goals for God's glory and honor,
to evaluate my worth based on who I am in Christ,
Enjoying my lessons!
Callie
DANGER #4 Not knowing God enough that we can understand His magnificent love.
Recently in a communion service, God confronted me about my nature of grumbling. The words that brought me to my knees was this, "Grumbling and Complaining is a symptom of ungratefulness."
I asked God for forgiveness and told Him that I'd rather not have anything at all than to be called an ungrateful daughter. I said, "God, teach me to love you enough".
But recently, the Master taught me that I cannot manufacture love towards Him. My love towards Him is a consequence of His love towards me, "We love because he first loved us." (1 John 4:19). Selwyn Hughes says, "Our problem is not that we don't love God enough, the problem is that we don't realize How much God loves us".
In the fiction, The Shack, William P Young writes; "So many believe that it is love that grows, but it is knowing that grows and love simply expands to contain it. Love is just the skin of knowing".
We don't usually doubt God's power or His authority. We all know that He is Almighty God capable of doing mighty things in our life. But during periods of exhaustion, we don't doubt his power but His love. If the devil can succeed to make us believe that God does not love us enough, then you're already in his track, with time he'll be directing your life and influencing your decisions.
Ephesians 3:17-19 (NIV)
..pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Do you spend enough time getting to know God ?
Maybe you too are in a transition like me, with a head full of dreams and a heart full of God. I encourage you to wait, for a moment and receive some inner strength from the Source. My dad often says, "If you have one full day to cut a tree, spend half a day sharpening the axe".
The greatest privilege in my life, is to be able to be picked up by God and given the grace to receive Him into my life. When I received Christ Jesus as my personal saviour, He did not just give me something to make my life better, but I received Christ Himself to think, feel and choose in my life.
But most of the time, I fail to experience the life that He wants me to have and depend
on my foolish strategies for fulfilment ,
on my lesser goals for honour ,
on my performance to evaluate my worth and
on my own capacity to love my Creator God.
This kind of living is dangerous, because it makes me a candidate to a whole range of negative emotions that could take over any time.
So I've decided to
depend on my relationship with God for fulfillment ,
to never override my goals for God's glory and honor,
to evaluate my worth based on who I am in Christ,
and to enjoy every moment of life feeling cherished that God loves me with a love that I can never imagine.
Enjoying my lessons!
Callie
