There is an order even in the disorder. I know that when I put God first things seem to be a bit easier. But in reality I only put him first when it works best for me. You know what I am talking about. In the morning when I wake up and there is that moment when everything is quiet. No distraction. Just silence. That is when it is the most convenient for this brat of the King. Yep, I don't even take into consideration how He longs for me to spend time just to get more acquainted.
God only requires that I love Love Him and accept the amazing gift He has given. He waits patiently for me to discover how awesome a life of obedience in Him could be. There is this instruction manual. It's called the Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth (bible). There are moments I feel myself holding my hands over my eyes because the instructions don't seem to fit my sinful life. So what if the instructions say to "Put to death whatever belongs to your earthly nature; sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed." and wait there is still more, "now you must rid yourself of anger, rage, malice, slander and filthy language from your lips. You cannot lie to anyone not a single person." I don't always want the truth to penetrate my heart. I often get paper cuts, from trying to skim over the pages of this guide for daily living, so that I can get to the easy to follow instructions. You know....the instructions that are comfortable and natural to this sin natured child. How safe it is to open up my beloved instruction manual and read only what I want to hear.
This past Sunday morning God planted Romans 8:28 on my mind. I love the book of Romans so I was excited to get up and come sit at His feet for a sweet cup of grace. "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." His purpose.....that's right His purpose not mine. Now, He had my attention. And I began to pray that He would give me a greater understanding of that "purpose" He has for me. After reading Romans 8, I found myself flipping ahead a few pages and landed at the book of Colossians.In a few weeks my inherited daughter is getting married. a portion of Colossians will be read at their ceremony. So, I didn't think it was odd that this is where I landed. It is easy for me to look up a verse that gives that warm fuzzy feeling. The first chapter starts off with God's desire for me to ask Him to fill me with the knowledge of His will through all the spiritual wisdom and understanding. We need this wisdom and knowledge so that we are equipped with the tools we need to live a fruit bearing life. As I continued to sit at His feet (which isn't always an easy instruction for me to follow), I heard Him say that I am one of His "chosen people, holy and dearly loved. I am commanded to be virtuous, having compassion, kindness, humility, and to be graceful and patient. But most importantly to love. Because love binds these virtues together in perfect unity". Colossians is a pretty powerful book. Packed with instruction. Rules help us to keep things in order. But I know that I must look at ALL the instructions and not just flip to the concordance/index and chose the easy to read version.
I call myself a follower of Christ a.k.a. kid of the King, wife, mom, daughter, sister, aunt, niece, cousin, friend, coworker, neighbor, acquaintance, and stranger. And if I sat here long enough I could add a few more titles to my list. I am realizing that I need to put my list/crazy life into some semblance of order. I will be the first to tell you, I am not the easiest person when I am feeling overwhelmed. And in all reality I can't stand myself when I don't have order. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us to.... "take every though captive and make it obedient to Christ". And in doing just that it will bring clarity and prevent frustration and that feeling of being overwhelmed. Obedience brings order. And following God's instruction will bring me to a place of congruency between the head and the heart. Yes, there is order even in my disorder.....when I put my King first.
" Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him".
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