8/13/12 3:58 a.m.
I love you. You are My child and I adore you. Before anything, always remember this. I adore you. Your failures and weaknesses are not too much for Me to handle. They are just that – weaknesses that can be conquered. We can and will conquer them together. Be willing to pray, focus, and do the work. Change takes work. Change takes time. But it is time well spent for the outcome, the end result will be beautiful. You, a child of God, of Me, are beautiful. But this beauty will multiply with these changes. With each change or move closer to Me and My will for your life. Some days the effort will need to be strong, other days, it will seem easy. Each situation you face will exhibit its own challenge that you will need to conquer. On the difficult days, pray more frequently, more fervently. Do not attempt to do any of this without Me. My strength will be your reward and your sustenance. My strength is a requirement for your success. So, ask for it often and do not work at this alone. My Spirit will change you as you have requested. I promised the Spirit’s help long ago through My Son, Jesus Christ as He left this place we call earth. Therefore, know the strength that is available to you. Use the Tool of the Holy Spirit to move you forward in your journey toward a character more like Jesus. This is your rebirth to a new life on earth. The slate is clean. Do not look back but move forward in My Grace and love others abundantly as I love you. You will feel the difference. It will be unmistakable. You will know I am working in and through you with My love, a love deeper and more extravagant than you can imagine in your earthly mind. But you will see and feel it and you will be amazed at the intensity of My Grace in your life and in the lives of others. A Grace humans can rarely comprehend. I offer it to you and to others freely. Accept it and pass it along lovingly to those around you. Let love, My love, conquer all. Let My love penetrate your very being, the essence of your mind and soul. I give to you as you ask and as you believe you will receive. I cannot force this love upon you. Your heart must be fully open, and it must be your true desire to receive it. Then you will see yourself transformed into a person of essential love, a person who will emanate My love and touch others with it. The beauty will be unmistakable. Seek this love, My love, daily and you will find that it is yours forevermore. I love you so very dearly. Rest now and be at peace with all. Be at peace within.The other night, while I was studying the Word of God with three other women who seek to know and obey God more deeply, I was reminded of the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers… a gift we sometimes (or often) forget to remember.
Anyone who has ever tried to change what they perceive to be a shortcoming in themselves knows how hard this change can be. But what if I told you that God loves you anyway? No matter how good you perceive yourself to be, you can’t earn His love, and no matter how bad you perceive yourself to be, you can’t cause Him to stop loving you. God is love. Period. Isn’t that freeing?
Knowing that our goodness or badness doesn’t affect our acceptance by God is, indeed, freeing. But that doesn’t mean we don’t have areas in which to grow and it doesn’t mean that growth can’t benefit our walk with God and others. Growth is, in fact, good. But, on our own, it’s sure not easy.
God promised never to leave us or forsake us. In fact, He sent us a Helper, His Spirit, the Holy Spirit to live in our hearts and guide us in life. The problem is we often ignore this precious gift and choose, instead, to rely on our less qualified selves for guidance. When we rely solely on ourselves instead of on the power of the Holy Spirit, we are incomplete, weak even, in our power, strength, knowledge, sight, love, forgiveness… you get the picture. The power of God’s Spirit in our lives is stronger than we realize, and it can propel us forward in ways we never thought possible. It all starts with a genuine act of humility followed by a simple request: “Lord, I know I can’t do this without You. Please help me become a better listener, friend, spouse… fill in the blank.” Friend, I promise you, God loves to hear this prayer.
This is certainly not a promise of “overnight” change, although that can happen. Sanctification is a process that happens gradually over time… the process of being freed from sin… the process of maturing into a better person… the process of becoming more like Jesus. There’s no doubt that real and lasting change takes time and effort on our part, but the difference between change with God and change without God is drastic. This is because God is all knowing, all seeing, and all powerful. Because He sees and knows everything, God knows what is best for us and He is willing to use His power to bless us in ways we never imagined… if we will only accept Him and ask Him to. Indeed, the power of God’s Spirit to yield positive change is limitless and can lead to a life of joy anyone should desire. I pray the message at the top of this post and the divinely breathed scripture below will move you to seek God’s power in your life leading to blessings beyond measure.
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:14-19 NIV)
If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. (John 14:15-17 ESV)
Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? (1 Corinthians 3:16 ESV)
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such
things there is no law. And those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with
the Spirit. (Galatians
5:22-25 ESV)