Truth springs up from the earth,
and righteousness smiles down from heaven.
Yes, the Lord pours down his blessings.
Our land will yield its bountiful harvest.
Righteousness goes as a herald before him,
preparing the way for his steps. – Psalm 85:10-13
This is a continuation from previous blog posts
One of my favorite wines carries as part of it's name, "Gnarly Vine" The fruit comes from old vines that have lived trough many years of strain and drought along with sunny days and cloudy winters. They've tangled, redirected, and "knotted" many times over again, and produce fruit with full robust flavor.
One of the benefits of this long wait with God is that it gave me permission to be inwardly tangled and redirected over and over again. It allowed for things like pain and confusion to surface ("sacred-sediment" mentioned in an earlier blog.) While that may not sound like a good thing, it was! It was good because it gave me a chance to see it, feel it, and let God bring healing to the past soul-strains and cloudy winter-stories I held. That meant (among other things) letting go of circumstances that brought pain or confusion, because my way of coping with them created some broken habits.
Stories have a funny way of integrating themselves into our life. They are the snapshots of life that provide images of memory. Good or bad we draw conclusions around them and begin to form ideas about how life works. At times I operate out of those ideas, taking them in as truth. The problem is that many times they aren’t true (at least not entirely) and unless we take note of them, these false-narratives will hold tremendous power over us...they will tangle us. For instance, we may carry the idea that people can't be trusted. A very painful story may have led us to that conclusion. Believing people cant be trusted will cause us to treat others as suspect and withhold the very thing we were designed to give and receive alongside them - love. As much as I may WANT to love and be loved by someone, my thoughts are holding me captive from it. I can "will" it all day long but my thoughts will override my will-power every time. Hmmm...One thing is for sure, our circumstances form ideas and ideas form thoughts and thoughts determine how we live. I guess that's part of the reason 2 Cor. 10:5 says to “Take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ.” And why Phil 4:8 redirects us to fill our thoughts with whatever is right, true, pure and lovely. SO...we actually have say over our thoughts! We can determine what we think about.
As God's truth infused itself into my "soul flavors", it was becoming easier to identify some of the lies that previously found their way in. Romans 12:1-2 speaks of the paradigm shift that occurs when truth reshapes the very recesses of our being, which was (is) indeed happening to me. Every step required confession and seeking Christ to ask Him what was true and what was not. God’s voice seemed to frequently call out, “Michelle, you have heard it said, or you may think….but I say…” As we go to the "basin" and wash off the residual effect of past images that form our many misguided ideas, God renews our mind which in turn has the potential to begin transforming our heart. Ephesians 5:26 says this, “Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, so that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word…” So while, for the sake of our example, we may not be able to always trust people, we can trust God. He considers us beloved and intends to fill us with His life if we will let Him. I'm glad too, because as the years go on and the strain of drought, or the joy of sunny days, or bitter cold of cloudy winters take their toll, I will need Him to untangle me over and over again.
We can trust that Christ will wash and reshape our life with His truth as we seek to "take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ." It is HIS truth that sets us free - free to live in the abundance of His love, untethered by pain, fear, offence...or any other misguided thought. And It will prepare the way for His robust and bountiful "soul-wine" harvest.
How about you? What are some of the ideas that inform your life?
Is it possible some of them, though compelling, may not be altogether true?
How have they held you captive
What might God's truth be according to his Word and Spirit?
How about you? What are some of the ideas that inform your life?
Is it possible some of them, though compelling, may not be altogether true?
How have they held you captive
What might God's truth be according to his Word and Spirit?
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