Truth for Tuesday-Redeemed

I feel I so often come to God with so little to offer. My greatest attempts towards holiness fall so desperately short of the righteousness of my God. My heart aches to please my Father, but my flesh screams for things of this world. I detest complacency, yet I live in it. I loathe those who sit in laziness, yet I so often chose to “rest” over putting away the three loads of laundry on my bedroom floor. I never want to be luke warm, but rarely see radical changes happen in my life or the people around me. Why is it that we are so easily drawn to the comfortable? Why do we so quickly escape to the place of meagerness before God instead of embracing His power in our lives?
I don’t want to be comfortable anymore. I want to be transparent before the throne and to relentlessly pursue my Maker. I want to live in the abundance that God designed for me. I want to be made weak, so that God can strengthen me. I want to give Him what he deserves, all of me, all the time.

Oh giver of life, breathe life into me. Ingrain a fire of passion in my soul. Make my heart dance before you. I desire for every inch of my life to serve you. Humble me that I might glorify you forever.

For the majority of my teenage years and through out my early twenties, pride rooted itself somewhere deep inside my soul. It wasn’t as if I was a naturally boastful person, and to be honest, I probably was far from that. Satan spoke lies to my newly redeemed heart. I thought I was “good” by comparing my sins to the sins of others, even to my friends. If I were to put myself on a straight line from me to God, representing where I thought I was in relative “closeness” to Him, I would have put myself somewhere over the middle point. As I have grown in my faith, God has pierced my pride with His truths. Just like it says in Isaiah, all of my righteous acts are like filthy rags. (Isaiah 64:6) I realize that in my flesh, I am no were near that middle point. Thank God for Jesus. Literally. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” 2 Corinthians 5:21

We serve a God of redemption, a God who loves us enough to send His own son to die for our filthy rags. He has pulled me out of the pit of self-righteousness and shown me the beauty of a life that only reflects His glory. I know that now I sometimes believe the lies on the far end of the spectrum. The lies of inadequacy, of unworthiness, of less than. God wants me to live in HIM completely, to rest daily in His embrace, to fall to my knees in adoration of His unfathomable gracious, and to resist believing anything that the enemy throws at me.

Precious Jesus, shield my heart from the lies of the deceiver. Set your presence around me. I want to rest solely in you. Make me a vessel for you.

IN the weekly bible study I am apart of (with a bunch of awesome Godly women), we committed to memorizing Psalm 25. I occasionally get a little shaky around vs 15, but otherwise I have to come to love this chapter. I love to pray God’s word back to Him.

Psalm 25 (NASB)

1To You, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2O my God, in You I trust,
Do not let me be ashamed;
Do not let my enemies exult over me.
3Indeed, none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.
4Make me know Your ways, O LORD;
Teach me Your paths.
5Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.
6Remember, O LORD, Your compassion and Your lovingkindness,
For they have been from of old.
7Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness' sake, O LORD.
8Good and upright is the LORD;
Therefore He instructs sinners in the way.
9He leads the humble in justice,
And He teaches the humble His way.
10All the paths of the LORD are lovingkindness and truth
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.
11For Your name's sake, O LORD,
Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.
12Who is the man who fears the LORD?
He will instruct him in the way he should choose.
13His soul will abide in prosperity,
And his descendants will inherit the land.
14The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him,
And He will make them know His covenant.
15My eyes are continually toward the LORD,
For He will pluck my feet out of the net.
16Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am lonely and afflicted.
17The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me out of my distresses.
18Look upon my affliction and my trouble,
And forgive all my sins.
19Look upon my enemies, for they are many,
And they hate me with violent hatred.
20Guard my soul and deliver me;
Do not let me be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
21Letintegrity and uprightness preserve me,
For I wait for You.
22 Redeem Israel, O God, Out of all his troubles.