Let our hearts sing PRAISES to our God! He works mightily!!!!
I am so thankful to the Lord. I was BURSTING with thankfulness when I left parent conferences this evening. Praise the Lord for how He has changed me! I don’t even know how He does it. How faithful He is and how faithless am I. But He continues to refine and polish. He has given me the heart of flesh and not a heart of stone. I have prayed for this throughout my life. I can’t tell if He is opening my eyes anew or if I am just going crazy. I think I want to see Him more than I have before.
After conferences I went to the “Y” and just couldn’t help but think of the many different ways He has blessed me. He has chosen to show me fruits of labor. That revelation has displayed to me the beauty of the interaction of His sovereignty and our labors.
As you might have noticed from some previous bloggings, I have trouble figuring out the balance between His sovereignty and our working.
Why should we work if He has already worked it all out?! What consequences do our works have? (Those were my main questions.)
I searched the Scriptures and found some good reasons:
Because He told us to, for the righteous clothes of His bride, so that we do not spit on His sacrifice, because that is what He has saved us for and to do, we are called to be stewards, we are His farmers, we are His soldiers, we are His ministers and will be held accountable to our works, we must walk in good deeds, He is glorious and our righteousness praises Him, etc.
But I still wondered and many thoughts and analogies came through my mind (perhaps I will later write about some) and then through two “monumental” understandings (“ironically” brought about by “outside” workings: i.e. reading His word, reading 2 other books and a general sentence from Sean Higgins,) I started praying for/about the fruits of labor. I prayed that I would be laboring for the fruit of others. I prayed that I would actually labor with emotion and caring and sorrow for the souls of others – trusting that He will bring this about.
And guess what?!!
He has chosen to show me some fruits of His working through me! AMAZEMENT!!! AMAZEMENT!!!!! What I am truly reveling about is the sovereignty and us working thing.
The paradox is TRUE! He does use us!
So, as I was jogging at the “Y” I realized that I must just TRUST this sovereign/me working paradox (DUH!). I realized that it can be likened to my operations in gravity. Do I fully comprehend how gravity works and interacts? No. Does that stop me from depending upon it and living in it daily…momentarily? No.
Do I fully understand or know how light travels from the sun to us? No. Does that mean I shut my eyes and block all sunlight? No.
Nor then can I mentally rebel against the thing God has created, planned, and purposed. My thoughts are not His thoughts. My ways are desperately below His ways. I will never know this balance. I will never understand it, but I know that He has revealed it to be true and to be there and so I must love Him and trust Him.
I must only step out in faith and He provides the rest! I was praying that my heart would sorrow for the souls of others; I prayed that I would be laboring for fruits. It is not that I have fully reached these goals. They continue to be my prayer, but when I chose to step out of my boat in trust He was there to provide all my needs.
Oh me of little faith, why do I doubt? Why do I not take my mustard seed and invest?! (Mixed parables...)
GO OUT AND LABOR!!! We have a heavenly calling! What are we doing with this calling? We have talents to invest? What are we doing with the things God has entrusted to our care?!! Somehow He uses us -- let us STORM the gates of Hades because we will prevail!!! The God of wonder is on our side, of whom shall we fear?! (I say these things to my own ears and heart.) We shall fear the Maker of heaven and earth who was enthroned at the Flood and reigns as King FOR EVER!!
He has shown me, o little Alicia, what is good and what the Lord requires of me – but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with my God. HOW GRACIOUS HE IS TO SHOW ME PRODUCTS OF THIS BALANCE!!!!!!! Never before have I seen such things and this week He has been pouring them OUT! I am so humbled. I would like to weep on the floor. How could I doubt Him? How can I keep from singing His praise? When will I see Him? Am I ready to be seen by Him? Will I be declared as a good and faithful servant??? I just want to sit in His presence and gaze at Him. I want to touch His feet. I want to hold His hand. I want to embrace Him and thank Him and spend time with Him. I thank Him for not leaving us orphans, but giving us His Holy Spirit. What a wretch I would still be without the Holy Spirit.
Oh COME, Lord Jesus!
Fight while He taries!
