"Me" Withdrawal

For the past few weeks, I’ve been kind of out of it and I could not put my finger on what was weighing so heavily on my mind. I figured that it was because I had been praying and asking God for clarity on a lot of different things and it seemed as though He was not responding. So this morning when I asked Him to show me what my problem was, He brought this verse to my mind:

"He must increase, but I must decrease. [He must grow more prominent; I must grow less so.]” John 3:30 (AMP)

And then He said, “I’m working you out.”

My problem, He said, is that my contentment is addicted to me. The thing about addictions is that they are not sustainable or fulfilling. In order to be happy, I have to realize my goals and fulfill all of my wants….emphasis on “my.” I always seek God’s will…but I am often guilty of trying to assist Him. My problem isn’t that there are a lot of things on my mind that are overwhelming me. As He is working me out, I seem to be experiencing “me” withdrawal. Luke 9:23 (AMP) says:

“And He said to all, If any person wills to come after Me, let him deny himself [disown himself, forget, lose sight of himself and his own interests, refuse and give up himself] and take up his cross daily and follow Me [cleave steadfastly to Me, conform wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying also].”

Many of us have ideas of what we want out of life, coupled with an insatiable thirst to get our way. But God wants us to be that way with Him…He does not want us to be satisfied until we get His way. It’s always better that way. The whole time that I’ve fixed my mind on what I want, God is saying to me, “is that all you want??? I have much bigger in mind.” The goals and dreams that we have for ourselves are something like boundaries…they are not enough to contain the vast variety of goodness that God has for us. If you look past them, you will see that God operates in and occupies that space of possibilities that exist beyond your wildest dreams. The above verse continues:

“He Who comes from above (heaven) is [far] above all [others]; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and talks the language of earth [his words are from an earthly standpoint]. He Who comes from heaven is [far] above all others [far superior to all others in prominence and in excellence].” John 30:31 (AMP)

It’s mind-blowing to know that I have a Savior who is all of that…and He wants to replace all of me with Him. Whenever I find myself feeling like I have been lately, the number one piece of advice from those close to me is to, “Trust God.” Learning to say “no” to myself, empty my heart’s tank and fill it with Him is the bottom line. I’ve always known this, but now I have more clarity on what it means to do that. I’ll keep you posted on the journey…

The "How" Factor

It seems like whenever God is prompting growth in His followers, He puts their faith to the test. When it comes to my faith, I often start out with a full tank. Then unfortunately, as the scenery of life changes, the level of faith and the way I show it may fluctuate. I go from being all excited about showing God how I feel to growing weary and saying things like, “Lord, I’ve been faithful. I’ve prayed, sought You and tried my hardest to do things the way You said I should do them.” But things got real one day when I was in one of those moods and He asked me, “How did you display your faithfulness to me?”

In asking me that question, God was showing me that its cool to do all those things to get His attention, but special emphasis should be placed on “how.” The way you conduct yourself in periods of quietness tells God what you think about His ability to come through for you. How you do things is, essentially, the package you deliver your faith in. I Peter 4:19 says:

“Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.”

I also like the way The Message puts this verse:

“So if you find life difficult because you're doing what God said, take it in stride. Trust him. He knows what he's doing, and he'll keep on doing it.”

Place your trust in the custody of God, who is loyal, dependable and consistent regarding His promises. He does more than enough in coming through for us and the only requirement of us is to make sure that our faith, what we know to be true, is reflected in the way we live our lives. God loves it when we are pressed about doing things His way because it lets Him know where we stand and it makes Him want to do more.

A lack of answers or understanding in any situation tends to precipitate a slowdown in a believer’s walk with God. My challenge to you (and myselfJ) is to take a different view of the gridlocks, catch-22s and seemingly impossible situations in life…a view that stands firmly on God’s impeccable track record and drives the way you do things.

It's Been A Long Time...

Hey everyone!! It’s been a long while, but I wanted to create an avenue for people to keep in touch and stay up to date with progress on “The Sparrow.” For those who may not know, God blessed me with a new position a little over three months ago and it requires extensive travel. Consequently, focusing on writing has been a bit of a challenge. I’m in the beginning of an eight month transition where things aren’t just changing, they are rapidly changing and being the structure-dependent, sometimes inflexible, introvert that I am, everything about it is stretching me.

However, a very wise person once told me that “if you mind God’s business, He’ll mind yours.” Even though it has been a lot to get used to, God still has words for me to give to you guys. So I’ve decided to focus on what He wants me to do and I pray that I can be a blessing to someone in the process.

If you want to receive my posts when I update, type your email address in the box to the left of this page under the heading "Subscribe to the Sparrow Blog." The past issues of "The Sparrow" are also available on the left hand side of the screen. If you have any questions, shoot me an email and I will get back with you.

Love you all and be blessed:)!