My heart longs for a closer relationship with my Savior. The deepest yearning of my soul is to know the heart of God. I am seeking much more than just knowledge. I am seeking to abide in Him. To be continually aware of His Presence. To live in constant fellowship with Him. I want to know Him more.
In my quest for an ever increasing relationship with God, I realize that in order for this to happen, I also need to be seeking a much higher level of holiness in my life. I need clean hands. I need a pure heart. I need to search those hidden places in my heart and allow God to cleanse them, circumcise them and replace them with Truth.
"Truth is knowing God's heart as it was revealed in Christ,
and it is knowing our own hearts in the light of God's grace."
(Francis Frangipane)
The Holy Spirit has been asking me some questions that are sometimes hard to answer because they are causing me to take a very deep look at some things in my life that I know aren't pleasing to God.
Do I value Christ above all else?
Do I long for holiness?
Am I taking the necessary steps in my life to live a sanctified lifestyle?
I know that the first step to achieving all of this is humility. If I am to ascend to the higher places with God, I must humble myself before Him. The depths of my depravity should drive me to my knees in desperation. Desperate for a cleansing of my spirit. A reckoning in my soul. Desperate for a filling of the Holy Spirit.
When I fall on my face before Him, truly seeking revelation, He will open my eyes to those things in my life that are unholy. Impure. Unlovely. He will open my eyes to those things that need to be dealt with and disposed of.
When my desire for more of Him exceeds my desire for anything else I will begin to see the unfolding of His grace in my life like never before. Then and only then, will I begin to attain the Holiness that I so desire. The Holiness that He so desires for me.
When my desperation causes me to fall humbly on my face before Him, I will see myself for who I am. In desperation I will seek His mercy and His grace. Then I will see myself for who He says I am. Cleansed. Forgiven. Redeemed. His.
As I begin to replace those sinful things in my life with Holiness, I will begin to find Him like never before. He will begin to reveal Himself to me mightily in my daily walk. His manifest Presence will overwhelm me and I will continue to seek Him with all of my heart. Seeking More Truth. More Holiness. More Jesus. Much more.. I desire to be all that I can be for Him. Seeking and finding the abundant and spirit-filled life that Christ desires for me to have. I want to know Him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
I know that the first step to achieving all of this is humility. If I am to ascend to the higher places with God, I must humble myself before Him. The depths of my depravity should drive me to my knees in desperation. Desperate for a cleansing of my spirit. A reckoning in my soul. Desperate for a filling of the Holy Spirit.
When I fall on my face before Him, truly seeking revelation, He will open my eyes to those things in my life that are unholy. Impure. Unlovely. He will open my eyes to those things that need to be dealt with and disposed of.
When my desire for more of Him exceeds my desire for anything else I will begin to see the unfolding of His grace in my life like never before. Then and only then, will I begin to attain the Holiness that I so desire. The Holiness that He so desires for me.
When my desperation causes me to fall humbly on my face before Him, I will see myself for who I am. In desperation I will seek His mercy and His grace. Then I will see myself for who He says I am. Cleansed. Forgiven. Redeemed. His.
As I begin to replace those sinful things in my life with Holiness, I will begin to find Him like never before. He will begin to reveal Himself to me mightily in my daily walk. His manifest Presence will overwhelm me and I will continue to seek Him with all of my heart. Seeking More Truth. More Holiness. More Jesus. Much more.. I desire to be all that I can be for Him. Seeking and finding the abundant and spirit-filled life that Christ desires for me to have. I want to know Him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
7 comments:
It is no small thing to be a student of the Holy Spirit. His questions are so pointed that we dare not shrink to the shadows when He begins to tutor.
In recent days I've pondered similar questions. They run along the lines of being content in the "least" and "last" places. Pride has such an insidious way of becoming a shadow.
The antidote? More of Him; less of me. Always.
Blessings,
Kathleen
Beth,
My husband and I have been seeking more and more of God in our lives. His Holy Spirit has been reminding us to make sure we are DEEPLY rooted in Him. We have been studying faith. WOW!! Are we learning.
I love you friend ~~. Dawn
Sweet Beth, As always your posts minister to me and make me want to go deeper in Him. I am desperate for Him, for His presence. I am desperate to know His will in searching for a job. Thank you my dear friend for always ministering to me here.
Love, Noreen
Oh how I long to see HIM in everything! I want to be clean before HIM...sifted, purified, so there is NOTHING left in me that satan can use against me. Healed from all that causes me to trip and tumble...Through and through, cleansed, forgiven and redeemed.
Show us LORD.
AMEN sister Beth...so beautiful!
Love ya
Julie
I totally agree! I know that when I give over the dark areas of my life, so God can make them holy, He can fill me even more and my intimacy with Him deepens! Thank you for your honest depicition of a growing relationship with Christ!
I would love to read where His manifest presence comes to you. If that is not too personal, it would be a blessing to read about it. Maybe you could simplify it and it still would be awesome.
Wondering how your father-in-law is doing. I'm praying for him.
Such beautiful grace represented in these faces here, Beth. I love your heart and your willingness to go "knee-deep" with Jesus. I have no doubt that you please the King.
Blessings and peace to you this weekend.
~elaine
Post a Comment