A few days ago, I was really having a rough time with thankfulness. All I could do was get angry at things, and honestly, I surprised myself. I knew what God was pleased by, but I just refused to do it. I was definitely not walking in the Love of God.
The next morning I was in the Word and kept coming to rebuking messages. I read about Saul's downfall and His being tormented by an evil spirit. I read about the harsh actions of wicked men in the psalms. And I kept coming to more 'negative' verses, some of which were obviously condemning, some of which were not.
After a little while, I realized that there was a hole in my spiritual armor. Thankfully, there is no condemnation for us, as we belong to Jesus (Romans 8:1). But if we are not abiding like He'd want, we are vulnerable to condemning thoughts or signs. It is satan, the accuser of the brethren, who places these mindsets in. And the only reliable way to overcome him is to be cleansed by God (see Zechariah Chapter 3).
So, by Grace I realized something had went wrong. I realized--the Lord laid it on my heart-- that I needed to repent for my sins, namely anger and disobedience, the day before. I thought I'd already done this, but He revealed to me it wasn't quite heartfelt. I didn't fully tell Him, "sorry". Nor did I commit to future change.
At that point, I repented. I humbled myself and apologized. And just like that, I knew I was forgiven! Our Lord is so quick to do that. I felt Him tangibly take that burden of my shoulders. My vision opened up, and I felt remade as new. With great faith--it comes from a great God--I opened up my Bible to another place and began reading what I saw first (for more on reading the Word, click here).
"...that He may lift you up in due time" 1 Peter 5:6
And that's exactly what He does. If you humble yourself, He will lift you up. If you repent, He will forgive. These are His promises! And when you repent, you enter freely into the Kingdom. Just like that, the power of our Lord and His angels is at hand. Just like that, we know what it means to have a yoke that is easy, and a burden that is light. We can be sure that He has forgiven us. We can be sure He has claimed us as His own and silenced the accuser. We can see and take great joy in the reality that He has turned our darkness into light (Psalms 18:28). His life becomes our light. Glory to God!
The next morning I was in the Word and kept coming to rebuking messages. I read about Saul's downfall and His being tormented by an evil spirit. I read about the harsh actions of wicked men in the psalms. And I kept coming to more 'negative' verses, some of which were obviously condemning, some of which were not.
After a little while, I realized that there was a hole in my spiritual armor. Thankfully, there is no condemnation for us, as we belong to Jesus (Romans 8:1). But if we are not abiding like He'd want, we are vulnerable to condemning thoughts or signs. It is satan, the accuser of the brethren, who places these mindsets in. And the only reliable way to overcome him is to be cleansed by God (see Zechariah Chapter 3).
So, by Grace I realized something had went wrong. I realized--the Lord laid it on my heart-- that I needed to repent for my sins, namely anger and disobedience, the day before. I thought I'd already done this, but He revealed to me it wasn't quite heartfelt. I didn't fully tell Him, "sorry". Nor did I commit to future change.
At that point, I repented. I humbled myself and apologized. And just like that, I knew I was forgiven! Our Lord is so quick to do that. I felt Him tangibly take that burden of my shoulders. My vision opened up, and I felt remade as new. With great faith--it comes from a great God--I opened up my Bible to another place and began reading what I saw first (for more on reading the Word, click here).
"...that He may lift you up in due time" 1 Peter 5:6
And that's exactly what He does. If you humble yourself, He will lift you up. If you repent, He will forgive. These are His promises! And when you repent, you enter freely into the Kingdom. Just like that, the power of our Lord and His angels is at hand. Just like that, we know what it means to have a yoke that is easy, and a burden that is light. We can be sure that He has forgiven us. We can be sure He has claimed us as His own and silenced the accuser. We can see and take great joy in the reality that He has turned our darkness into light (Psalms 18:28). His life becomes our light. Glory to God!
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