Heaven operates on a system of exchange, this is not an exception it is simply the rule. If you are not willing to trade your fears and sorrows don’t expect to receive the peace and joy which surpasses all understanding. If you are not willing to trade your own loud familiar voice for the still small one inside of you then don’t expect to know or experience anything more than what you already know and have experienced.
It’s not a demonic issue or some form of spiritual warfare it’s a basic one-plus-one-is-two scenario. The other day I got this, “grace and mercy is a system, you have to be in it to win it so get involved in living your best life”. I promptly made it my status but I think its deeper meaning is only hitting me now as I type which is how revelation seems to work for me these days.
It hits me when I think I’m sharing or advising a friend, before I know it something I had been asking about is answered in my own voice and this is one of the things that amazes me about God and the way he constantly speaks to and through us.
Nothing new can happen without an exchange for the old. You can’t add anything to a cup that’s already full. It’s like people who say they want a new life but hold onto their old one complaining bitterly all the while and ruling out every piece of advice you try to give them.
Spiritual trouble shooting is actually very practical there is no magic one time pill to solve all our problems but there is a Sovereign all time God who can make something out of what seems like nothing. He doesn’t just promise to fight our battles, protect and provide for us and give us our true identit. He causes all things to come together for our good in the process. If that isn’t awesome I don’t know what is.
We got this illustration in church once about how God gives and we receive. They said that God pours his blessing and other goodies into our lives like a continuous fountain and we receive them by raising our open hands toward him. (Coincidentally this same act signifies surrender which falls in line with seeking His kingdom first so that all these things may be added unto us.)
The moral of the story was that as long as our hands remained open we would enjoy the fountain but as soon as our hands became preoccupied with other stuff our fists would clench around those things and cause the fountain to spill over rather than into our hands. This made so much sense to me because we can’t multi task when it comes to that sort of thing.
You can’t be consumed by fear and claim to be filled with faith your actions will always sell you out because a fearful person submits to their fear and a faith filled person submits to their faith and acts accordingly. So in the case of the person seeking a new life they would look at a variety of new life options and pick the best one to go for rather than stay in the same place.
When you wake up in the morning what is the very first thing that comes to mind? (outside of checking your whatsapp and grumbling about it being Monday LOL). What drives you as the day progresses? I just want us to think about this for a moment because we either win or lose based on what we choose to make use of. There are two sides to every coin but its value to you is only determined by what you choose to spend it on. Are you spending three quarters of your day wallowing in self pity? Does it feel like the walls are caving in around you? Maybe you need to turn your attention elsewhere to someone more powerful than you.
If you make use of the comment your teacher made to your parents in grade two about how you are the class clown and will never achieve any real success then you are going to have a funny way of failing all the time. If you choose to make use of your own understanding you will always fight off God’s plan for you because you will never feel worthy of the greatness He has put in you. On the other hand if you choose life death will lose its paralysing grip over you. If you choose faith it will remind you that there is a greater one in you than the one who is in the world.
It’s too good not to be true
There is a better life for us in salvation. I don’t even need to give a specific testimony here just look up the hundreds upon thousands who have testified over the years. Those who have given their very lives to serve this God of mysterious ways, just look at the impact His love has had on them and then ask yourself if it’s really worth holding onto anything else.
My prayer today is for our hands that are holding onto the wrong things, Father may you remind us that our hands belong raised in surrender to you and that your fountain of grace and love will never run dry. Amen
