Yield

Yield. Let God be who He is. Allow Him to reveal Himself without preconceived notions of righteousness. Grace is His covering for all ~ this is where I am spiritually and practically speaking.

I've been thinking lately of how comfortable I am with the idea of our ordered paths in this life. I see the benefits of waiting on Him.

I often try to make Jesus' words my own, to somehow stake a claim on His word, on Him, when in reality, He is at work in claiming me. This perspective brings peace.

I see that impatience leads to deception and I am grateful that He compels me to stop resisting and yield to His lead. Incredible freedom in this adjustment which allows me to see Him in more places/people than I have in the past. Previously, I believed and lived from a perspective of works, but now I function from a place of rest and faith. It's better here.

Because of the encouragement to yield, I am open to other's paths; paths that I would have criticized in my previous ignorance and desire to be "righteous" ~ read "perfect". I never realized how offensive and arrogant I was in believing that others had to believe the way I do or how I participated in making a religion out of Jesus' love.

I am no longer offended by other faiths. I no longer feel challenged to "set someone straight" about God. How arrogant, unloving and unmerciful my thinking was for much of my life. I thought that salvation was somehow tied to works/beliefs, even though I espoused that salvation only comes from Christ. Now I know that righteousness will never come from me but must come from His presence in me.

I do not deny that salvation is found in Jesus - I still believe that. I just see more fully that it is God at work in bringing His word to life in me and others and not the other way around. I am completely at His mercy.

I cannot convey the fullness of my appreciation for God and His perfect plan for creation, His perfect love for all. I see that He is in all things as He continually makes His presence known and felt in unexpected ways.

I am in awe of this one I love.