But now He has obtained a more
excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better
covenant, which was established on better promises. For I will be
merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless
deeds I will remember no more.”
Hebrews 8:6, 12
On the way home one day, I
began thinking about the season that I've been in. It's not always been
easy and has had me asking God to clearly reveal His purpose in these
life tests so that I can pass and not have to revisit them. Unlike those
who are more righteous than me, my desire to move out of the season is
not always altruistically motivated. I am not always focused on Christ
the way I would like to be in theory. And that was the center of my
thinking on the way home. I began to berate myself about not doing
better, thinking better, and just plain
being better. I began to feel
inadequately human and selfish in my thinking. That familiar motto
"W.W.J.D.?" (What Would Jesus Do) played in my mind as I wondered how
Christ would have handled being in my shoes. My brain began to overload as I thought of all of the "shoulds"...you know the things that you feel you "should" do like pray more, eat less, exercise more, love more, and so forth... I knew as I stepped into
the house that my condemning thoughts were not of God (Romans 8:1) and
that I needed to turn to The Word for answers. As I re-read Hebrews 8, I
was struck by the 8th and 12th verses that reminded me that God is merciful and
not as concerned with my works (a.k.a. deeds). While He
does want me to pray more and love more, etc., He also knows doesn't condemn me when I don't. At the end of the day,
His promises go beyond my inadequacies. His covenant is one of forgiveness and grace...not to the end of sinning more but to the end of living more. Truly it's God's desire for us to lead lives that are focused on Him. However, as God, He also fully understands that we are simply unrighteous humans. And sometimes that is all the reminder that we need to take one more step in His direction.
Be encouraged to stay focused on living
for God without trying to
be Him.
Blessings,
MinD
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