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January 8th - 14th
A new you…
“Thus said the Lord, which maketh a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters; Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43: 16, 18-19 KJV
Thank You, Lord, that we know you as Savior. II Corinthians 5:17 tells us that: “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” It is because of Jesus’ precious blood that we claim this promise. We are Your children, heirs to Your throne. We were created by You for Your honor and Your glory. Father, You allow trials in our lives to draw us closer to You, so that we can learn to trust You, to glorify and honor Your Son. You are the Potter, Lord, and we are the clay. The testing reveals the changes that You need to make in us. At times, the test may come in the form of correction. “Thou shalt also consider in thine heart, that, as a man chasteneth his son, so the Lord thy God chasteneth thee.” Deuteronomy 8:5 KJV
Or the tribulation comes in an office setting with a difficult boss, unrealistic deadlines, too much to be accomplished, and, seemingly, no one we can turn to, no one to help. But You, Lord, are always with us, and You promised to never leave or forsake us. (Hebrews 13:5 KJV) “Faithful is He that calleth you, Who also will do it.” (1 Thessalonians 5:24 KJV) Whatever You allow, You will accomplish.
Sometimes the trial appears in the personality of co-workers, those characteristics we have a difficult time handling; and we find that the next assignment we are given requires us to work one-on-one with them. God is at work, and if we fail to pass the test, He will give us another opportunity to go around that same mountain. “My son, despise not the chastening of the Lord; neither be weary of His correction: for whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” Proverbs 3:11-23 KJV
Regardless of the affliction chosen for us by our Father, be it a person or situation, we know that He walks with us each step of the way - through the water, through the valley, through the fire. Change and sanctification is a process we will go through all of our lives, yet in the twinkling of an eye, we will be made perfect when our Lord and Savior returns. If He came today, would we be ready? Do we allow Him to work in us and He chooses? Do we hear that Still Small Voice? Do others see that we are different from the world in which we live?
One of the greatest accounts of change and sanctification in the Bible is the Apostle Paul when he met Jesus on the Damascus Road. Acts 26: 15-18 “And I said, Who art thou, Lord? And He said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest. But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee; Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.”
Let us all pray that God would use us and we will be obedient to His call. Let Him dig deeply to purify us. If we are not willing, He will find someone else and we will miss the journey.
“And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as silver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will say, It is my people; and they shall say, The LORD is my God.” Zechariah 13:9 KJV
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