It is so easy to hide all that you've ever been ashamed of.
And it is so easy to fill your struggling soul with perishable nonsense.
I'm sitting in a middle-class, heated and well lit living room. My family's Christmas tree is up and I'm typing on an Apple computer. Lazily, kitties are wandering in and out of the many rooms of my house and a warm cup of tea is at my fingertips. The kitchen is full of food and my room is overflowing with stuff.
How worthless.
What do any of these lovely, withering things have to do with soul?
What do they have to do with the condition of my heart?
Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,
especially to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
especially to my neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.
I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
Psalm 31:11-12
This scripture tells me one thing,
I am dying because of my sin.
And no matter how I try to hide it, it will always be ready to throw me into the pit of despondency. (Like that Pilgrim's Progress reference, eh?)
Even amidst this precious time of year the ugliest and darkest parts of our hearts are scraping their way to the surface, blindly enslaved to selfish fear that leads only to unfaithfulness to our Lord.
Blessed be the Lord,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was in a besieged city.
I had said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
when I cried to you for help.
Love the Lord, all you his saints!
The Lord preserves the faithful
but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the Lord!
Psalm 31:21-24
I am relieved and aghast to announce that the love, grace and mercy of my Father
does not depend on my good deeds or faithfulness.
And because of that fact, tonight I'm taking comfort in James 1:12...
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial,
for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life,
which God has promised to those who love Him.
And tonight this scripture isn't even about me.
This scripture is all about the abundant forgiveness that is mine in Christ!
Do you think it's possible for me to remain steadfast under trials?
Absolutely not;
I have years of failures and unrighteous anger to prove that to you.
I stand underneath the wings of my Savior, held up by His reliable and undeserved love.
The Lord, my righteous and holy God is the One who prepares me to receive this crown of eternal unity with Him.
Because apart from Him, there is no life.
Yet it seems strange that this unity is offered to those who love Him.
Who can love the Lord sufficiently?
His standard is perfection and I fall plainly short of that.
I find it's all about Him again.
He is the gracious One who empowers me to love and covers me when I fail.
And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Colossians 1:17
