Still. Guaranteed.

This morning I did something I haven’t done in a while. I woke up, rolled over, and opened my Bible. I read the first chapter of Ephesians.

That whole thing about the Holy Spirit being a seal or deposit guaranteeing our future inheritance…
I don’t think I’ve ever really paid much attention to that. But this morning, I found comfort in it. Because every time I encounter the Holy Spirit in my life, it should remind me that I belong to God. That I still belong to God. That there is more to come and that this is just the beginning.

So, today, I thank God for marking me and claiming me as His own. I thank God for still being with me. I thank God for the guarantee of a future of fullness and redemption. Oh, for joy!

Get to Your Own Land

God spoke something to me recently.
I found myself reading Deuteronomy 2.
I let that 7th verse wash over me with comfort and assurance.
And I continued reading.
The Israelites wandered through the desert.
On their way, they passed by many peoples in many lands.
And each time, the Lord told them to leave the people alone, for He would not give the Israelites any of those people’s land.

So it is with me.  The Holy Spirit told me that I would pass by many folks who already have what it is that I long for. But to keep going.  Keep going through the desert and get to my own land that the Lord has set aside for me.

Distraction

God can be so distracting.

I was sitting in church last night at the women’s meeting, trying to focus on worshiping. But a million thoughts were racing through my mind. I felt blocked.

And then the Holy Spirit spoke to me: Dana, do you love me enough?  Do you trust me enough to come to me for the things you’ve been going to other people for?

And before the Holy Spirit could even get to the question mark, I knew the answer was no. Those million racing thoughts were not a distraction at all. It was a slideshow of all the people and things I’ve been turning to instead of God. When will I get serious about victory?

I am nervous about what God will do next. In my heart, I mean.  There are no fig leaves big enough to cover that part of my heart I’ve been trying to hide for so long.

Hiding

Lately, the Holy Spirit has been sneaking up on me.  Tonight was one of those nights. I was listening to a song called “All I Need” by Rita Springer, and something (or Someone) came over me. Brokenness painted my face with streaks of tears. I fell to my knees. Then on my face. Then on my back. Totally surrendering my heart to God.  There is no place like the presence of God.  It is not a place I find; it finds ME. Hallelujah.

The Holy Spirit spoke these verses to me:

“But if from there you seek the LORD your God, you will find him if you look for him with all your heart and with all your soul.”  (Deuteronomy 4:29)

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ‘I will be found by you,’ declares the LORD, ‘and will bring you back from captivity’.” (Jeremiah 29:12-14)

And that was cool. But not enough. So I asked God to speak right into my heart…and I waited. And then this:

“I hide to lure you to beautiful places.“ And as the Holy Spirit spoke to me, I could feel my heart being rearranged. There are some areas of my life in which I feel God is nowhere to be found. He is hiding.  And tonight, He revealed to me that, yes, He is hiding.  But it is not to discourage or frustrate or abandon me.  It is to lure me.  If I will just chase Him, I will find Him in beautiful places. Places only He can take me. Places only He can show me.  Beautiful places I will see when I seek Him with all my heart and soul. For so long I have viewed His hiding as a strange sadism or negligence. Tonight I understand His hiding as an invitation to be lured to beautiful places.

What Does Transformation Require?

I have tried to change….

How much of transformation is my responsibility?  My striving. My effort. My self-help. My will. My determination.

How much of transformation is God’s responsibility?  Holy Spirit. Sanctification. Deliverance. Healing. Imputation. Impartation. Faith. Patience. Endurance.

Balanced Diet

Tonight, during our break, one of my classmates pulled out a grapefruit and started cutting it.  I said, “Whoa!  That’s an enormous grapefruit.”  It really was the largest grapefruit I’ve ever seen.  She said, “It’s my dinner.”  Funny what grad school does to a person.

I’ve been getting back into a book a friend gave me.  It’s a book of daily Celtic devotions.  What I like most about the devotions in this book is the focus on the Holy Trinity—not just each person of the Trinity, but the Trinity as a unified whole.  I think sometimes I have a hard time focusing on the Trinity holistically.  When I think back over my Christian life, it seems there were times when I was “God-focused”  and times when I was “Jesus-focused”, and then times when it was all about the Holy Spirit.  Perhaps this is a microcosm of a larger Christian phenomenon.  Maybe there are churches or denominations that tend to focus on one person of the Trinity.  Maybe not.  Just a thought.  But in my own life, I’m realizing that I have unintentionally put too much distance between each person of the Trinity.  The three are ONE.  It’s a mind-bending mystery…but a glorious one.