I love this video and song, just thought I'd share it with you!!! I love the part in the lyrics that says "All that I can do is give it back to you, you've taken my old skin and made it new again". I find myself constantly having to give everything back to him so that he can make it new again.~ Rokstar
The place of suffering and the thought of carrying my cross repel me from becoming the creature God intended to me become.I constantly go to the place in my mind that says that Jesus bore all of my sins and carried my cross so now I am free and there is no cross left to carry.I find myself despising the cross because not only does it represent the place Jesus gave up his life, it also represents the place where I too must give up mine.The thought of suffering brought on by the hand of someone that loves you seems like a contradiction.Sometimes feeling like a pawn in a chess game, I resolve that God wants me to suffer so that his work can be done and he is not totally concerned with my pain.
I feel in my heart a desperation cry from the church. It has been so long since we have felt life. We are pressing through weary and broken and tired. We have seen the same situations reoccurring in our lives so often that we have accepted them as what our lives are meant to be. The Lord is saying "Look up, your redemption is near". Dare to dream that dream again that is dying inside you.
If we REALLY knew Him, we would put a smile on our face and Know that it all will be okay. We would trust Him with all we are. We would walk in places we have never walked and do things we've never done. If we understood His love, His overflowing, immeasureable love He has for us- each one of us- it wouldn't matter who rejected us, because we would be confident that we are totally accepted by the one that created all that there is.
One thing is for certain, EVERYTHING changes. It can seem like whatever the situation you are in is for forever, but really EVERYTHING changes. In the Bible it says that there is a time and purpose for everything. It is so cool to know that everything has a purpose. What is each circumstance and season forming us into, I don't know, but I do know that His work is perfect and ALL things are working together for our good. The government, the economy, financial troubles, trials are all being worked together into something that will result in everlasting life.
Recently, I noticed how much I have been praying the exact same prayer. " Lord, change my circumstances. Change my life. Make things better." What I am referring to... financial strain, a business that hasn't been getting much business, a house that my family of 6 is officially busting out of, etc. Yes, I have been praying the same prayer for quite some time now, and with faith, too. I have wrestled with God, why, why, why not now?, what am I doing wrong?, what are you trying to show me? I keep trying to find the formula to move God.
I remember that old cigarette commercial slogan " You've come a long way, baby." It is so funny that what those people were trying to convey is you've come so far that you deserve a smoke. Haha. I definitely deserve a smoke then, and so do you. But hey, no thanks! If all I get for coming this far is a cigarette, then I quit. Don't get me wrong, I am looking for rewards and benefits, but only the kind that are going to actually help me live better.
