Written by Gene Markland
02/18/2018
________________________________________________________________________________
Move,
get, go, and do! Life can be like a drill sergeant screaming in your
ear, “Alright (insert-your-name-here), go, go, go!” A man once said,
“We’re human beings, not human doings.” So often we find ourselves in a
never-ending frustrating rut of doing. We forget the importance of just
being whom we are, the unique individual made by God. He made us first
and foremost to be, not to do.
Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 KJV).
We struggle to do things in order to get what we want in life. We push ourselves to do anything in order to please God, when what He really wants is not so much what we do for Him, but what we are to Him. One of the greatest lessons Lord Jesus ever taught me was just to be. This is more important to Him than anything I’ll ever do for Him.
I asked Him to sanctify me by His blood, to plunge the depths of my inner being, and clean the deep recesses of my spirit, soul, and body. Though I had the assurance of my salvation, He showed me that my soul, like a room swept clean, still had some cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling. The Holy Spirit, who searches the deep things, shone a light in those dark corners exposing some lingering stuff. With the broom of the Holy Spirit we dealt with them and I became a clean pot, a vessel fit for the Lord’s use.
I learned to focus my efforts on being a clean pot, and then He could use me and perform the “doing” through me. I’m the being and He’s the doing. I knew a man who was constantly striving to push himself on people. He went overboard trying to impress the ladies. His focus was doing his best, not being his best. Ultimately he would push them away. The lesson he needed to learn was to be the best that you can be, then they will see and not flee.
Sure, it’s good to have goals in life, but do not fail to appreciate and enjoy who you are and what you have right now. Your life here and now is incredibly important! Don’t worry so much about tomorrow. "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34 TM). Tomorrow will take care of itself.
The Apostle Paul said to be content in whatever state you’re in. “I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am” (Philippians 4:11-14 TM).
Enjoy the incredible gift that is today. God wonderfully made you. In the Bible, He states that He knows the plans He has for you. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. He knows the desire of your heart. He had a part in putting it there. What He began in you He will fulfill. You might not be able to see it right now, but that doesn’t change His word. Be patient and stand. You will see the salvation of the Lord.
Whether you need deliverance from a bad situation or just want your dream of a happy life to come true, remember that our God is the biggest dreamer of all. He dreamed up everything that exists in the universe, including you. He wants His dream for you to come true as much as you do. When we embrace His dreams for us, and submit our dreams to his will, we find the contentment that the Apostle Paul wrote about, and God’s peace that passes understanding. Have faith in God for you are a blessed being.
Copyright © Gene Markland 2009, used with permission.
More from CBN, here
Jesus said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matthew 5:48 KJV).
We struggle to do things in order to get what we want in life. We push ourselves to do anything in order to please God, when what He really wants is not so much what we do for Him, but what we are to Him. One of the greatest lessons Lord Jesus ever taught me was just to be. This is more important to Him than anything I’ll ever do for Him.
I asked Him to sanctify me by His blood, to plunge the depths of my inner being, and clean the deep recesses of my spirit, soul, and body. Though I had the assurance of my salvation, He showed me that my soul, like a room swept clean, still had some cobwebs in the corners of the ceiling. The Holy Spirit, who searches the deep things, shone a light in those dark corners exposing some lingering stuff. With the broom of the Holy Spirit we dealt with them and I became a clean pot, a vessel fit for the Lord’s use.
I learned to focus my efforts on being a clean pot, and then He could use me and perform the “doing” through me. I’m the being and He’s the doing. I knew a man who was constantly striving to push himself on people. He went overboard trying to impress the ladies. His focus was doing his best, not being his best. Ultimately he would push them away. The lesson he needed to learn was to be the best that you can be, then they will see and not flee.
Sure, it’s good to have goals in life, but do not fail to appreciate and enjoy who you are and what you have right now. Your life here and now is incredibly important! Don’t worry so much about tomorrow. "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34 TM). Tomorrow will take care of itself.
The Apostle Paul said to be content in whatever state you’re in. “I've learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I'm just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I've found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am” (Philippians 4:11-14 TM).
Enjoy the incredible gift that is today. God wonderfully made you. In the Bible, He states that He knows the plans He has for you. Plans to prosper you and not harm you. He knows the desire of your heart. He had a part in putting it there. What He began in you He will fulfill. You might not be able to see it right now, but that doesn’t change His word. Be patient and stand. You will see the salvation of the Lord.
Whether you need deliverance from a bad situation or just want your dream of a happy life to come true, remember that our God is the biggest dreamer of all. He dreamed up everything that exists in the universe, including you. He wants His dream for you to come true as much as you do. When we embrace His dreams for us, and submit our dreams to his will, we find the contentment that the Apostle Paul wrote about, and God’s peace that passes understanding. Have faith in God for you are a blessed being.
Copyright © Gene Markland 2009, used with permission.
More from CBN, here
No comments:
Post a Comment