Hi Little Lambs! 🐑
I couldn't help myself kicking off this post with Little Lambs. It is a sweet, endearing phrase one of my spiritual mentors used to call us every time she walked into our office. I still love it. I texted her this week saying, "Just one of your little lambs confused." I needed her input on something I was struggling with.
Who is that person for you? Who do you reach out to when you have spiritual questions?
Oh, how I hope you have someone. Thank them if you do. I hope you have several, actually. I talked to another one of my spiritual sisters this morning just to share our week. To know how to pray for each other in the coming week and remind each other of just how good God is.
If you don't have those women in your life, please find them. Pray for God to bring them into your life. He will.
This month marks 20 years of spending quiet time with the Lord in the morning. Mornings I felt both convicted and confused. I was talking to Kyle recently about the places I considered sacred, or my holy huddle (as Haleigh calls it.) I remember each one and what it felt like to sit there with Jesus. It is nothing short of a miracle that despite my carnal wreckage, He wooed me and loved me into the most extraordinary, beautiful relationship of my life.
Do I have "dry seasons?" Have I been too busy to sit still with Him? Of course. That is part of this journey with Him. I was reminded this week of the seasons I hoped He had adjusted His standards just a bit or might give me a pass to sin. He patiently, gracefully, and lovingly brought me back to the truth each time.
And just in case you're wondering, God doesn't adjust His standard. His rules and ways don't change. The Bible says, "God is the same yesterday, today, and forever." I believe that means His commands don't change. His standard of holiness and righteousness doesn't change, and thankfully neither do His unconditional love or promises. I believe His Word is true through and through, infallible.
I trust Him.
Is it possible for us to obey every command all the time? Can we become righteous over time?
No. Righteousness was bestowed on us when we surrendered our hearts and lives to Christ. We can only be righteous before God because of Jesus. It's not something you become. It's something you ARE.
That gift alone should make us want to know Jesus intimately. It should make us want to live God's way in God's world, as our pastor says. It should make us want to know Him.
And you cannot know God if you don't read His Word. I don't think a quick devotion as you walk out the door before work or church on Sundays will give you an intimate relationship with the Lord.
There was SO much I didn't know when I started having quiet time with Him 20 years ago. Girl, there is still so much I don't know or understand. But He has been faithful when I've questioned and even doubted.
God knows you. Intimately.
Do you know Him intimately? Do you know what His Word says about Him? About you?
Ask Him to teach you who HE is. Ask Him to give you a heart to know Him, to provide an understanding of His Word when you read it. To teach you who you are.
As I reflected on the last 20 years this morning, I heard Lauren Daigle's song Thank God I Do.
It says, "I don't know who I'd be if I didn't know You. I'd probably fall off the edge…."
I would. Whatever the edge is, I would fall FLAT OFF it, y'all.
Twenty years of falling in love with Him has taught me who I am and who I'm not. It's taught me that I'm miserable when I'm far from Him. It's taught me I don't want to go one day without Him.
I pray the same for you. As our world grows dimmer and confusion reigns, seek the truth. God's word says many will fall away. Many are. Some are trying to adjust God's standards. Others flat-out changed their belief system.
Oh, how I pray we aren't deceived, Little Lambs.
Jesus left as a Lamb, sacrificing everything. Please do NOT forget He is returning as a Lion.
Enough of my rambling. I just felt like encouraging you to stay strong and stand firm. To seek Truth and spend a minute asking yourself who God is to you.
Who is God to you?
Lauren's song nailed it for me today:
You're my safe place, my hideaway You're my anchor, my saving grace You're my constant, my steadiness You're my shelter, my oxygen
I don't know who I'd be if I didn't know You THANK GOD I DO.
Prayers and love, Beautiful Ones.
P.S. Click and listen. I must add that I'm thinking my house in heaven will look something like this street!
