And now these three remain… 1 Corinthians 13:13
I draw myself nearer to You
Seeking refuge from my wandering
Forsaking binds that once were a comfort
Crumbling walls I’ve only peaked through
Drawing nearer to you
Finding courage in Your promises
Yet lacking bravery to fully commit
But I press in trusting Your path
Nearer to You
I am reminded that I am mighty
I am complete
I am Yours
Why do we view conviction so negatively? And why do we run from it? Without conviction, how can we expect freedom? The church should be convicting because ultimately Jesus convicted the hearts of the poor and the defeated out of love not arrogance or judgement. He was sent to be relatable not as if He were better than any of the rest of us. And although He was better and without sin, He walked the path of sinners and suffered a death as if He were one. That’s how He changed and continues to change hearts all over the world.
Therefore, if the church is His bride then we need to marry the idea of honest conviction with humble acceptance and overwhelming forgiveness. We should not be afraid to confront other Christians, non believers or doubters. For Jesus spoke calmly but was firm in his expectations. We go wrong when we live out the negative connotation that we’ve given to conviction and we start pointing fingers and turn up our nose at our fellow sinners. A sin is a sin, no matter what the gravity of the situation so we should remember to put ourselves in the shoes of others. We’ve all been through valleys, let us recognize those seasons in others and help bring them through it, not to make them feel guilty but human.
In my experience, the ones that turn away or run from conviction need the most love. And that should be our first sign to humble ourselves and stretch out a forgiving hand. It’s really in our approach as a church. Let us be like Jesus and be honest and convict hearts to better them not bury them. Let us boast of our past convictions to be relatable and humble ourselves as the Father did through His son, Jesus Christ. Let us not condemn but raise up, let us not scare away the broken-hearted but embrace their faults with our own. Let us award honesty with a challenge to go further in faith and deeper in relationships. Then, together we can continue to invite God to dwell within us and within those around us. Lord, convict our hearts so that we may become better disciples and hold us accountable as we shall hold others accountable to Your will and calling on our lives.
Faith cannot be placed into a box.
Yet the faithful feel forced to fit into a mold.
A mold made by doubt within our own kind and carried out by nonbelievers just waiting to say, “I told you so.”
We’re not perfect and though we should strive for it, we shall never let our pride or sense of togetherness make anyone else feel small or not good enough.
Because the truth is none of us would sacrifice our last breath to honor a notion that we did not understand.
Yet we would give up a nourishing meal to live up to standards set by these box makers.
And we become numb to these insecurities because it’s easier to bury scars than to wear them proudly.
Yet when we do, we put ourselves in that same box and fear pushing the envelope might cause gossip and judgments by fellow box dwellers.
But we are not called to be in corners, we are called to break down barriers, be relatable, be scarred, be inspiring.
Be outside the box thinkers.
For Noah’s arc was outside the box.
Esther’s boldness was outside the box.
Paul’s change of heart was outside the box.
So we shouldn’t try to fit our faith inside this little box, we should let it grow into vineyards of luscious fruit.
Let it spiral in directions off the beaten path.
Let the wrong turns and spoiled vines be lessons to legions of followers.
Let them strengthen your heart so that it becomes durable to what ever trials it may face.
For God didn’t create us in our mothers’ wombs to be frail box inhabitants.
We are wonderful, fearless, one of a kind, box breakers formed to be soldiers in His army.
To stand up for what is right by him and to not be held down by these rules that minimize Him.
We are who we are for a purpose and denying what makes us that denies Him.
Let us all love each other for that reason so that we no longer judge each other by denominations or by sins but learn to love with grace and gratitude.
Let us help others out of their boxes to be revolutionaries of their own faith.
For God has a relationship with all of us and it’s in that relationship that we are molded and it’s in Him where we find our strength.
And no box could ever contain the love that He has for us and the love that His spirit will bring.
Gone is the comfort of yesterday
Our wings took flight to soar heights unreached
No longer confined to borders
Each changeling’s journey predestined for each to seek
We no longer can guess the path but are to trust the footprints set before us
He sets lamps at our feet as we take to the soil
Our hope is in Him who is our shepherd
He will guide us through pastures which will lead to questions
But He will also take us to the water to drink and become drunk with answers
As we hydrate with His love and gargle His goodness
We are reminded of our purpose
The changelings have been obedient to His calling
And will swallow and regurgitate each word He gives us
It’s amazing what a little change in perspective can do to your life. I have grown more in the past year than I have in the past five years all because I decided to change my perspective. I decided to have a more positive outlook on things and to look for the silver lining in every struggle I faced. Even though God blesses me on a daily basis with so much, I still wanted more. I couldn’t see that He gives me all that I need to come through every storm.
For awhile I thought I was somehow being punished because there was this lack of growth and backtracking in my life. I hated my job, lost all focus and drive and was completely unhappy. I asked Him to make things better for me but what I was missing was that things are already pretty great. I saw that God was keeping me in the valley because all I was focusing on was what it would be like on the mountain top. Don’t get me wrong, He wants us to envision the mountain tops in our lives but what He taught me in the valley was to focus more on what I have a my lowest and how that will get me up the mountain.
You just have to realize that what you have and who you are is enough. This doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work on bettering yourself. This means that when you put less on what is inhibiting you from growing closer to God and start counting your blessings, God will bring you up that mountain. Of course this doesn’t always happen overnight, so “until God opens the next door, praise Him in the hallway.” (Orebela Gbenga) I’ve learned this lesson the hard way but I now know that having a more positive perspective will help me get through every storm and climb every mountain that crosses my path.
Therefore, I pray that as a generation, we learn to become less greedy and more grateful for things we do have and to not focus on what you don’t. I pray that God speaks in our lives on a more regular basis so that our hearts are satisfied with the route God has us on. God, I just ask you to guide us in our diligence so that our rejoicing and praise is the same in Your quietness and as it is in Your presence.
My Faith, My Hope, My Love 