Skip to main content

It's about HIM

For someone who has never been very good at math, I sure like formulas!
My sister told me the other day that my brother-in-law wondered why I wasn't an engineer since I value and prize order, organization, straight lines and routines so much. (She informed him that I sincerely lack in the area of mathematical expertise which quickly took engineering off the career table for me in college).
Duty and responsibility are probably some of my loudest personality traits.

This becomes a problem when I let those two parts take over in my spiritual life.
I begin to recite prayers like formulas assuming they will work because of the power of the words, not the power of the Father.
I begin to faithfully read my devotionals to check off my to do list, not because I'm sitting at His feet to listen.
I begin to sing worship songs at church expecting the same revelations, not because I'm seeking His face.

Order, familiarity, formulas, routine ... these are my places of comfort. Yet, they can push the Holy Spirit aside if I let them.

This week He reminded me that my prayers hold no power in and of themselves, but He answers because of HIS great grace and mercy.
My devotionals don't have all the answers, but HE uses the words of others to bring attention to areas He's working in.
The worship songs aren't about evoking feelings--they are about entering HIS presence.

I had slid away from the most important part... HIM.
Without HIM, I am nothing.
Without HIM, there is no lasting change.
Without HIM, there is no power in prayer.
HE holds it all together and only by HIS great love and compassion do I even get to play a part. Nothing is about me or my accomplishments. Everything is about HIM.

"Yet this I call to  mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." (Lamentations 3:21-23)

Yes, Abba Father, great is YOUR faithfulness. 





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Mother's Prayer Journal

Pages filled with anxious thoughts. Self rebukes over faithless walks. Tear stained ink blots. Happily scribbled exclamation dots. Trials recorded and lives unfolded, Over the creased lines of stories told. Pleas for wisdom. Cries for mercy. Answered petitions, And surprised renditions Of stories with newly twisted plots. Desperation. Exasperation. Written daily! Then forgotten lazily... Stories of successful potties. Frustration with consistent naughty. Prayers of hope. Prayers for peace. Memory verses needed as Persistent sources of daily strength. Determined stances. Defeated chances. Joy filled exclamations. Laughed over situations. Healing supplications. Worship then adoration. These are what fill my pages. Stories of my children's lives. Written with a fiery drive By a mother who strives To cover them in prayer. Memories for one day soon. A notebook to be passed on to you. A family recipe better than any heirloom. A mother'...
Post a Comment
Read more

Are you thinking what I'm thinking you're thinking?!

Have you read the book of Ezekiel? It's an...interesting one to say the least. God asked Ezekiel to do some strange things (like lying on his side for 390 days); but what I found fascinating is that before all this started, He told Ezekiel multiple times not to be afraid of the people or what they would say. (Ezekiel 2) The fact that He said it multiple times must mean that it was a message that He really wanted Ezekiel to remember. He knew that what He was calling Ezekiel to do was not going to be easy and people pleasing was not going to be an option for him. "The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that." (Proverbs 29:25 MSG) While reading Ezekiel 2 I almost felt as if that message was meant for me--as if God was saying to me, "Maria, don't be afraid of them or of their words." How often am I one to be afraid of people--what they think, what they say, what I think they are thinking or saying about me. It's enough fe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen closely

Silence... nothing but the sound of the wind moving through the trees. It almost brings tears to my eyes. Solitude.. Time alone and still to clear my mind and the highway traffic of thoughts. How good it is to sit quietly and hear the nothing of a place untouched by the business of life. I see the waves of the wind move through the branches as they ebb and flow from one part of the world to the next. "Be still and know that I am God." (Ps. 46:10) There is a reason He wrote those words. We need that time of stillness to feel the breathe of God flow back into our lives. The lights and sounds and excitement of the fast paced life can be alluring. As a teenager I didn't understand the need to stop and be still. Why not keep going? Why not  move as fast you can and always have noise and always fly from the one exciting event to the other? I had not found the beauty in the stillness of nature. The way the voice of God whispers to you there. Elijah was weary of his rushe...
Post a Comment
Read more