How Do You Assess Your Day?

If we give in to the corrosive habit of whining, the very point for which we are made is lost.  The image of God is not latent;  in Christ it is front and center.  From every pore seeps Christ and His nature and as you live out the day God has given you, something miraculous happens; God in flesh is realized, or better, discovered.  You are where you are because God has placed you there with no other task than for Jesus Christ to live through you and flow out from you.  You can snap at  your husband or complain about your boss, gripe about your friend or grit your teeth over your salary but what you have really done is dam off the spill of grace from your response line.  What could have been a sparkling ray of light became a shadow and God was kept at bay by your refusal to be crucified with Christ right then.  The greatest saint is not the one drawing the biggest crowd, it is the one so hidden by Christ that all that is seen is God head to toe.  The artistry of Jesus is blighted the moment we cannot see God in our plight and that critical brushstroke is never reworked.  The Lord won't impose His will upon you for then all that will be manifested is the forgery, a charlatan's trickery.   It is you who must choose to believe the Lord has done good with you now and then and only then Christ will spring forth from you like the brightest dawn.  The most important work you have is to believe God is in each spot in your life and trust His judgment and care for you as you go about your business.  Satan is not your greatest foe; your unbelief is and that must be squeezed out of you daily as you look for God at every corner and turn and trust Him to make all things good that come your way.

...but the Lord rises upon you and his glory appears over you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn.  Isaiah 60:2-3 NIV

The Unseen Line

At what point do we cross an unseen line when we no longer hold our things but they instead hold us?  Nothing confounds the Christian quite as much as the tight grip some desire or want maintains even as he sees himself free and on his own.  We sometimes mistake disappointment over not having with careless indifference to the thing.  Children play the game easily and we see through the charade.  "Oh, I didn't want do that anyway", they strut after the privilege is taken from them.  "I never did like her", is mumbled when the friend turns to someone else.  Yet are we so free of treasures on earth that we can happily disengage from them if the Lord breaks their grip?  Can we say farewell to the career if God were to call us to a mission field?  Are we really able to go wherever He leads even if it means leaving behind that home and car?  What is the price that is too steep to pay to follow Jesus?  Is it the respect you have gained or the comfort you enjoy?  How closely allied are you to the philosophy of the rich young ruler?  No dawn shines quite as brightly as the beginning of a day filled with the wonder of following Christ without thought for what it might cost you.

The Dawn Is Upon You

At what point do you begin to question the sanity of chasing after Jesus, of wanting to please the Father, of listening for the Holy Spirit to guide you?  Is it after the disastrous decision you made, during the long wait for the hope you had being fulfilled or while you sing dispassionately of the God you once trusted.  Nothing speaks more of your faith than your determination to shake off the conundrums of misplaced affections.  The Lord who saved you will not allow any desire or longing replace Him as King of your hopes and dreams.  You were not called out of darkness to stay in the shadows.  The light of Christ will shine brightly within you but only as you give Him access to the dark places where lurk the aspirations you have for getting your way, your way.  The Lord must put a halt to your self-reliance before you can progress much further in the joy of your salvation.  Rejoice, the dawn is upon you!    The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn...Proverbs 4:18 NIV