05/28/2019
Do you feel the tug of the Holy Spirit against your heart? Perhaps you think of it as a subtle yearning, or even a curiosity that you can’t resist. However it is that you initially experience it, this is God reaching out to you, and Jesus softly saying “Follow me.” It is the same for each of us, whether we are wealthy or poor, tall or short, thin or plump, sick or well, but it always finds us the same... as sinners, and the promises are the same also... salvation, righteousness, glorification, and eternity...
“And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”
Romans 8:30 ESV
God’s voice awakens us; it is the glint of treasure in our eye, it is a fresh view of ourselves, it is certain healing for a sick and sin wracked body... it is the hope of an eternity in God’s grace. The question becomes one of our courage to respond. Which brings me to the first prayer we should pray “Lord, I want to believe, give me the courage to believe.” In the Bible there is a story of a Father whose son was healed by Jesus, and when he saw this, these were his words...
“And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes." Immediately the father of the child cried out and said, "I believe; help my unbelief!"”
Mark 9:23-24 ESV
Our being led to faith in God, and Jesus Christ, is mysterious... it is much like a seemingly random girl who catches your eye, and then begins to dominate your thoughts and conversation until you finally speak to her, pursue her affection, develop a relationship with her, try to leave her but can’t, and eventually ask her to be your wife. When you feel this with your heart then that is love, but if you reason it... then it is nothing.
“And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”
1 Corinthians 13:2-3 ESV
When you feel the longing for Christ take hold of you in heart, mind, and soul, that is also Love... Agape Love; or in other words... the Love of God for man, and man for God. Yet, just as the man who falls in love with a woman is changed by it, and spends the rest of his life trying to understand, and determine what this love is that has captured him so completely; that has become so all consuming. Just as this man never finds the words to fully describe it... so it is with our love for God... it is a poet’s life’s work, and his endless frustration... and yet there is it... God’s love, and we embrace it.
“But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 1:12-13 ESV
In these first moments of our spiritual encounter, and the nagging doubt therein, God speaks to us about who He is, about giving us courage, and then begins making His promises known to us.
“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you."”
Isaiah 41:10-13 ESV
So we are chosen, called, encouraged, and informed, but before all of these, and from the foundation of creation, we were loved with an Agape Love. If we grasp this love, and enter into it courageously through our faith in Jesus Christ, it becomes our eternal promise, and we are glorified.
“"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 ESV
So whoever you are, whatever your means, your health, your goodness, yes even your sinful state, listen with your heart for that small still voice that calls you, open yourself bravely to the love of God that is waiting to rush in, receive His courage in this moment of your belief, and cling to it desperately for the rest of your life... pray unceasingly for Jesus to resolve your unbelief, and to abide in you.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for drawing me to you, and for the courage you gave me to make that leap of faith as I entered into your love. I thank you for your Son Jesus Christ who redeemed me, and intercedes for me, and for your Holy Spirit that makes your Word known to me... praying for me when my words will not come, or are insufficient. Thank you Holy Father for your love that has extended from before all creation to reach me today. Thank you for the many mysteries of faith, but especially for the greatest mystery of all... love. Help me Father to love you more with each passing day, and lift me up during those moments when my belief needs encouragement. Let me love you, and have unwavering faith in the good times, and the bad, teach me to love you through the pain and suffering of life, because I know that it takes little to love in those times when we recline in the shade, and life is flowing with milk and honey. Strengthen, embolden, and encourage my faith in you, and my desire to love you, even as my Savior Jesus loves you. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God, who has made a way for the sinner, and sacrificed His Son out of love for me. Glorious is your mercy and grace that was, is, and is to come. I praise your name Father, and plunge myself into the love you have offered so completely.
“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 ESV
Rich Forbes