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| Gulls @ Deibert Park |
I believe that freedom will come when our efforts are used for putting on Christ...
Let us walk properly,
as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in
strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for
the flesh, to fulfill its lusts. Romans 13:14 (NKJV)
...and loving
Him. How? By obeying Him.
If you love Me, you will keep My
commandments. John
14:15 (NASB)
...and by loving others
as you love yourself. I have problems
loving myself, much less others. I
really have to work on this one.
…if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You
shall love your neighbor as yourself. Romans 13:9 (NKJV)
And above all things have fervent love
for one another, for “love will cover a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8
...by the
daily renewing of your mind. Taking wrong
thinking captive. Putting on the whole
armor of God. Praying. Fasting. Studying the Bible until it’s a part of your
heart, not just in your head. Trusting Him. Stopping complaints. (That one is definitely for me!)
If we want freedom,
our focus needs to be Jesus, because He is our freedom. He doesn’t give it to us, it is WHO HE IS.
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| Gulls @ Deibert Park |
Where
on Earth is Your Focus?
It’s hard to wrap our minds around the fact that freedom is just
that: being free. Having to manage food
every day…struggling (even when I am on the winning side of the fight
temporarily), the fight every day to “deal with this for the rest of my life,” is
NOT Freedom. Never giving thought to my weight, or my food
plan, or obsessing about the what/when/how of diets and poundage…that, to me,
is freedom.
I think, for those of us who are ready to take on the challenge
of fully trusting God, He's got something very precious in store for
us: His easy yoke to replace these chains of bondage under which we
live.
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| Gulls @ Deibert Park |
I believe the key is complete trust. To
admit that there is nothing at all I can do to change myself, my core nature,
and depend fully on Him to change me. Goes against
the grain of our “I have to” thinking, doesn’t it?
I have to try.
I have to plan.
I have to watch what I eat.
I have to count calories.
I have to be accountable for myself.
I have to try harder.
I have to plan harder.
I have to watch what I eat more carefully.
I have to be more accountable.
That’s never worked long term for me. Has it for
you? And I believe I’ve struggled just as hard as anybody else, if
not harder than some.
What, your intellect may want to ask, about Proverbs 29:18: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." My vision, my plan, is to TRUST HIM. The NKJV puts it this way: Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. (I have been known to eat with wild abandon.) The revelation is that Jesus already paid the price for my freedom, so why am I struggling so hard for something I can't achieve on my own?
Ever heard the expression, "Letting go and letting Him?" After all my praying for freedom, all I do is hang on with all my might to my “I have to” mentality and never fully trust my Lord to do the very thing I’ve asked Him to do: Free me.
What, your intellect may want to ask, about Proverbs 29:18: "Where there is no vision, the people perish." My vision, my plan, is to TRUST HIM. The NKJV puts it this way: Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint. (I have been known to eat with wild abandon.) The revelation is that Jesus already paid the price for my freedom, so why am I struggling so hard for something I can't achieve on my own?
Ever heard the expression, "Letting go and letting Him?" After all my praying for freedom, all I do is hang on with all my might to my “I have to” mentality and never fully trust my Lord to do the very thing I’ve asked Him to do: Free me.
If God can (and does) set alcoholics and drug addicts free without a 12
step program (12 step programs have helped many, and I do not ridicule any tool
used to help overcome addiction), if He can change Paul's heart (as he was on
his way to imprison and torture Christians), if he can change the vilest
sinner's heart, he can surely change me…WITHOUT a diet plan that I have to
manage and struggle with! Instead of working on my diet plan,
I’m going to start working on my focus, and let freedom envelop me.
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| Gulls @ Deibert Park |
If you're still reading...it's well over 700 words today. It's not just a word for the birds...
Stay tuned...there is, after all, a part 3.
I think a lot of us have that "I have to" mentality when it truly does rest on Jesus and Jesus alone. You are right, it does come down to trust not in just this, but all aspects of our lives. Now getting there (at least for me) is hard, but I think that is where your focus and who you focus on will be very important to continue to strive for.
ReplyDeletebetty
One of the 12 Steps in AA (2, I think) proclaims the need to surrender to God and turn "our will land our lives over to the care of God."
ReplyDeleteI have often told God that i am His. I have given myself to Him, to do with as He chooses, but something about that phrasing--turning my life over to "the care of God."--hits me as a qualitatively different thing. Less of a strong adult's determined choice to submit and more of a powerless little child's fully depended trust in a loving parent care.
This post reminded me of that.
Overeaters Anonymous uses the same 12 steps. I did start OA...I didn't finish.
DeleteI, too, have often told God I was His, and meant it when I was saying it, but later (most likely that day) I took matters into my own hands. You'd think it wouldn't be such a difficult thing...oh, but it is...for me, anyway.
Actually, it's a very scary thing, "Less of a strong adult's determined choice to submit and more of a powerless little child's fully depended trust in a loving parent care." and I really am not sure why, other than it must be trust issues.
I have a really long way to go. If only I could practice what I "preach."
Ha. You and me both, sister, you and e both.
Delete