Grace

Dependent on God's Presence

There is no thrill for us in walking, yet it is the test for all of our steady and enduring qualities. To "walk and not faint" is the highest stretch possible as a measure of strength. The word walk is used in the Bible to express the character of a person-"...John...looking at Jesus as He walked...said, 'Behold the Lamb of God!'" (John 1:35-36). There is nothing abstract or obscure in the Bible; everything is vivid and real. God does not say, "Be spiritual," but He says, "Walk before Me..." (Genesis 17:1).
When we are in an unhealthy condition either physically or emotionally, we always look for thrills in life. In our physical life this leads to our efforts to counterfeit the work of the Holy Spirit; in our emotional life it leads to obsessions and to the destruction of our morality; and in our spiritual life, if we insist on pursuing only thrills, on mounting up "with wings like eagles" (40:31), it will result in the destruction of our spirituality.
Having the reality of God's presence is not dependent on our being in a particular circumstance or place, but is only dependent on our determination to keep the Lord before us continually. Our problems arise when we refuse to place our trust in the reality of His presence. The experience the psalmist speaks of - "We will not fear, even though..." (Psalm 46:2) - will be ours once we are grounded on the truth of the reality of it. Then we will exclaim, "He has been here all the time!" At critical moments in our lives it is necessary to ask God for guidance, but it should be unnecessary to be constantly saying, "Oh, Lord, direct me in this, and in that." Of course He will, and in face, He is doing it already! If our everyday decisions are not according to His will, He will press through them, bringing restraint to our spirit. Then we must be quiet and wait for the direction of His presence.

Update

So driving down the road yesterday, I was getting impatient with an elderly driver and his poor driving habits. Then it hit me, I need to start practicing grace and patience. I should not get so angry at others. No one is perfect, including me. That was my self-righteousness rearing its ugly head again. I have to admit my shortcomings in order to overcome them!

I don't have a lot to talk about today. We've just been taking it easy, trying to stay out of the heat. Since the ac in my car doesn't work very well (hardly at all!) we have to do any errands first thing in the morning. And I am not a morning person. Blah! But it does get it out of the way and then I can do stuff around the apt the rest of the day.

We are decorating Abbie's room more. I bought a bulletin board set to decorate the closet doors, plus I printed off some animal coloring sheets for added effect. I'm pretty excited about it!

Ok. Thats it. Peace out!