A Continual Process, A JOURNEY

7/1/2006

After listening to a track on the “Responding to His Grace: ROI” teaching that talks about the difference between the “western” and “eastern” mindsets… (The easterners viewing life as more of a journey, and westerners almost always viewing life as a series of results—“win or lose”)… I was thinking of the way that I respond to my OWN failures, shallowness, unbelief, lack of ALL my heart, ALL my soul, ALL my strength, etc. My tendency is to make sure that “all my ducks are in a row” and if I FEEL they are not? If my prayers are few and far between, or unfocused… If my worship feels fabricated and difficult… if my vision is foggy, or my faith seems weak… if love and sacrifice aren’t the overflow, but instead impatience and irritation and self-thoughts are prevailing… It’s all too easy for me to “throw up my hands” and think, “Well, I must just not have a relationship with God”, “Something is TERRIBLY wrong with me…” It’s easy for me to make things very big and global with “I nevers” and “I can’ts” and think “WHAT is HAPPENING to me?!” and make things very complicated. But really it’s not complicated at all! If I’m not in dialogue with Jesus, right this second, if my worship isn’t spontaneous, right this second… If I don’t have a relationship with Jesus RIGHT THIS SECOND, that is full and free, it’s because I didn’t do my part to MAKE IT SO the moment before. I was too lazy, or didn’t care enough, or wasn’t recognizing my NEED, or whatever… My relationship with Jesus isn’t something that I achieve and then desperately try to MAINTAIN, but rather, something that I must continually ESTABLISH and RENEW—grab hold of and claim, moment by moment, with energy and aggression. And THEN?! The JOURNEY continues : )

“Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you”!!!! It’s a CONTINUAL process, a JOURNEY…

•  Responding To His Grace: ROI!