YOUR CONDITION

(Post by: Lilly Hobbs)

Many people that I’ve come in contact with or that I know, are pretty much convinced that the quarantine we just went through was straight from the enemy. I’m not here to say whether it was or wasn’t, however, I do know that in my own life, God did some amazing things that allowed me to make Him #1 in every area of my life through the quarantine, and I know He did the same for others.

Psalm 46:10 has never been so real to me until this virus appeared. It says “Be still and know that I am God…’’

I quickly came to realize that I cannot “know” God unless the worldly things around me are stilled in order that I may be still. So, I spent my time asking the Lord to reveal Himself to me through His Word and through my everyday life, so that I could actually know Him for myself.

I didn’t want to just know all the literature and the “right” things to say about Jesus. I wanted Him to show me who He really is.

My whole point was simple. I wanted to know God so that I could trust His plans. This became evident to me one night before the quarantine ever happened, and I desperately wanted to be content with whatever God had for me. I wrote this in my journal that night, “Lord, help me to remember that your plan is so much better than what I want.” That’s stuck with me ever since I wrote it.

Isaiah 14:27 says, “The Lord of Armies Himself has planned it, therefore, who can stand in it’s way? It is His hand that is outstretched, so who can turn it back?”

He convicted me that if I wanted to be reminded that His plan is better than mine, then I needed to know Him and His character. I needed to be certain that He is trustworthy.

I’m not sure about you, but when He challenged me with that, I thought that I was doing great in my relationship with Him. Of course, I knew Him and that He has a great plan for me…

I mean, I go to church, serve Him faithfully in different places, and lead Bible Study groups. While those things are good, and I should be involved in those things in order to keep growing in my faith, I equated a portion of my personal relationship with Jesus and actually knowing Him with some of the “works” that I was doing.

We tend to have a warped way of thinking when it comes to how we are really doing and how much of ourselves we are really giving to the Lord. We lead ourselves, and the people around us, to believe that we just love Jesus so much and that we’d be willing to do anything He tells us, when in reality, we are sidetracked and busy with the world.

Truth is, I had to be honest with myself about my condition. I knew about God, but I didn’t let God reveal Himself to me every single day so that we could have an intimate relationship. And I think that’s how many of us are, even though we don’t often like to admit it.

When you are steady in His presence and come to a knowledge of who your Creator actually is, loving Him just comes naturally. Serving Him, and even giving Him your all, comes naturally.

Our responsibility is to be honest about where we really are in our walk with Him. God wants you to be content in Him. He wants you to know that He has a plan for your life that is so much better than what you want. But you can only experience that when you experience Him.

As Crowder says in one of his songs, “But I find I know less as I come to know you more. You’re not who I thought you were. Praise the Lord.”

I want to know God more than I ever have before. Do you?

“Pay attention to your condition and see whether you are in Christ or not. It is the easiest thing in the world to give high marks when grading your own paper.”    (Charles Spurgeon)

SO WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE?

= What’s your condition today? Do you actually know God?

= Do you think that God has a good plan for you?

= What are you going to do differently?