Photo credit: 24.media.tumblr.com
I cannot stress enough how different each person is. We can all see it, different features, hair, eyes, bodies, personalities, strengths, weaknesses and the list goes on, but for some reason we expect God to work the same way with all of us.
Don't misunderstand me, God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and His principles and character will never change, but the manner in which He deals with each one of us is very different. It has to be, because we all have different personalities, backgrounds and biases. What works for me, won't necessarily work for you and no one knows that better than God. He knows exactly what makes you tick, how to wind you up and how to wind you down.
My point is this, walking with Jesus is a relationship, not a set of rules. You might have heard that phrase a hundred times, but why do we still compare, judge and beat ourselves up for not meeting standards that WE have set for ourselves?
Jesus has met every standard that we ever had to meet. In Him we are clothed with His righteousness and perfection, blameless before the throne of God. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” 2 Corinthians 5:17 We are free to walk in relationship with the living God, to hear His voice and heartbeat without anything holding us back.
He has a unique road for each one of us to walk and on that road we will find everything we ever needed. Don't look left or right to someone else's road, don't compare or envy, just walk, walk in faith knowing that God is good and that He only gives good gifts to His children. (Matt 7:7-11) Do not be distracted or pressured by other people's successes or misfortunes and don't let people force their ideas of how you should walk on you, just focus on His direction and the road that He has shaped for you, it is tailored to your needs and filled with blessings, peace and joy.
“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes” Jeremiah 29:11-14
“Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise.” Galatians 3:23-29
This is just exactly what I needed to hear, at this very moment, at this particular time.
ReplyDelete