Post by matthew on May 28, 2005 11:37:57 GMT -5
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."
My walk with God is full of ups and downs. This, I believe, should be the experience of every Christian. When I first asked Jesus into my life I didn't understand this. I expected all my problems to disappear. Infact the reverse was true, my problems increased! You see, I didn't go to God out of a sense of my own sinfulness; I wasn't burdened with guilt or anything like that. I turned to God for help because my life was a mess, and he promised, in his Word, to help me. Instead I began to feel worse. I started to experience something that I had never felt before in my life - something much worse than anything I had previously experienced. I started to feel guilt. It began to eat me up inside and I didn't know what to do with it. I tried to turn to God, begging him to take it away from me, and at the time he did try to talk to me, but the voice of guilt drowned out the 'still small voice' of my gracious God, and I fell away from him, back into the world of sin. The guilt left me, but I remained lost, and what was worse, I knew there was a God, and I was, for some reason, separated from him. I tried to turn back, but it was no good; the guilt would always return. I carried on like this for a number of years, in and out God's kingdom like a yo-yo to the point where I was ready to die. In fact I thought I was dying. My mind was a real mess and I thought I only had a couple of months to live - if that!
It's hard to believe that this was a few months ago. The Lord has been so gracious to me. I no longer suffer from endless guilt. Finally I'm able to accept that my sins are truly forgiven! I believe the Lord let me go through that to give me a glimpse of the terrible effects of sin and show me how hard my heart was back then when I was a teenager. I'm still having ups and downs. I still have my problems. The Lord still has so much to show and teach me. It's through trials that we learn to trust and remain faithful to him. We need to know that he is the only one we can turn to. There can be no other source of strength other than that that we receive through Christ. There are many ups and downs which we face and will continue to face, until that final day when we stand before God. The trick is to learn the secret of contentment - that Paul talks about - "in any and every situation":
...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secrect of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
One thing more that I need to say is that even though I turned to God through selfishness, rather than because I wanted to know him and was sorry for my sin, the Lord still accepted me. He heard my cry. I began to learn to walk the path of righteousness afterwards. The Lord has been so gracious to me.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved..., through faith.
Ephesians 3: 16-17 N.I.V
My walk with God is full of ups and downs. This, I believe, should be the experience of every Christian. When I first asked Jesus into my life I didn't understand this. I expected all my problems to disappear. Infact the reverse was true, my problems increased! You see, I didn't go to God out of a sense of my own sinfulness; I wasn't burdened with guilt or anything like that. I turned to God for help because my life was a mess, and he promised, in his Word, to help me. Instead I began to feel worse. I started to experience something that I had never felt before in my life - something much worse than anything I had previously experienced. I started to feel guilt. It began to eat me up inside and I didn't know what to do with it. I tried to turn to God, begging him to take it away from me, and at the time he did try to talk to me, but the voice of guilt drowned out the 'still small voice' of my gracious God, and I fell away from him, back into the world of sin. The guilt left me, but I remained lost, and what was worse, I knew there was a God, and I was, for some reason, separated from him. I tried to turn back, but it was no good; the guilt would always return. I carried on like this for a number of years, in and out God's kingdom like a yo-yo to the point where I was ready to die. In fact I thought I was dying. My mind was a real mess and I thought I only had a couple of months to live - if that!
It's hard to believe that this was a few months ago. The Lord has been so gracious to me. I no longer suffer from endless guilt. Finally I'm able to accept that my sins are truly forgiven! I believe the Lord let me go through that to give me a glimpse of the terrible effects of sin and show me how hard my heart was back then when I was a teenager. I'm still having ups and downs. I still have my problems. The Lord still has so much to show and teach me. It's through trials that we learn to trust and remain faithful to him. We need to know that he is the only one we can turn to. There can be no other source of strength other than that that we receive through Christ. There are many ups and downs which we face and will continue to face, until that final day when we stand before God. The trick is to learn the secret of contentment - that Paul talks about - "in any and every situation":
...I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secrect of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.
Philippians 4: 11- 13 NIV
One thing more that I need to say is that even though I turned to God through selfishness, rather than because I wanted to know him and was sorry for my sin, the Lord still accepted me. He heard my cry. I began to learn to walk the path of righteousness afterwards. The Lord has been so gracious to me.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved..., through faith.
Ephesians 2: 4, 8 NIV