Saturday, October 25, 2014

II Corinthians 7:15a - "Jesus, Lover of My Soul"

I am still trying to process everything from yesterday.  What a blessing of a day!  As I participated in a Spiritual Retreat with Mercy Hospital I was renewed and refreshed.  The Lord spoke to me so many times throughout the day.  I will have to say the one time was my absolute favorite.  He blessed me mightily with His words.  One of the questions we were to ask the Lord in one of the morning sessions was, "What do you weep for me over?"  I was expecting His answer to be a negative but was pleasantly surprised with what He said…

"I weep for joy over your transformation.  For the way You continue to seek more of Me and less of yourself.  You are a blessing to me as you live a life of sacrifice."

Wow!  The tears started flowing.  I was overwhelmed with His love in hearing these words.  I am so grateful for the time in Illinois a few years ago that started my healing process from "junk" I had been carrying around for years.  I was able to rid myself of "burial clothes" that I was bound by.  I praise His Holy Name for not only healing me but also giving me new life and the desire to live a life of surrender to Him.  It was interesting that He used the phrase "…life of sacrifice."  I guess when you think about "sacrifice" and "surrender" they go hand-in-hand.  When one lives a life of surrender, they do sacrifice.  Sometimes the sacrifice comes in the form of relationships, finances, time, etc.  

Another question we were to ask, "Who have I given (through the Lord) the ability to be free from "burial clothes"?  As I made my list, I wasn't sure why the Lord had me write down this one person.  Less than twenty-four hours later I now understand.   It's amazing how quickly He reveals things to us when we are willing to listen to Him.  I also made a list of those who need to have "burial clothes" removed so they can have the Lord's fullness.  As I was making the list, the Lord gave me words to share with one along with a scripture.  I quickly read the scripture and was amazed at how it fit with the situation.  Nothing the Lord does should surprise us but as human beings it still does!  Even though we weren't suppose to use our phones I text the message and scripture to the person and was blessed with their response.  In that same session, the Lord took me to II Corinthians 7:15a…

And His affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were obedient, receiving Him with fear and trembling.

Woo hoo!  I love, love, love this scripture!  "Fear and trembling" was also a part of the scripture He gave me to give the person.  The Greek for "fear" is "reverence" or "respect."  We are to respect the Lord in our attitudes and in our actions.  "Trembling" can mean to become weak so we will depend on God.  Our attitude should be that of a healthy fear of offending God in our disobedience.  I wrote in my journal….Renew our hearts and minds as we come into His presence with a spirit of reverence and awe.  Woo hoo!

There was just so much I gained yesterday and I am still processing it.  Thirteen pages in my journal to go back over and be blessed by over and over again.  I actually was getting afraid I would run out of pages but have three left!  I also was blessed throughout the day with different songs the Lord put into my heart.  "Jesus, Lover of My Soul" was flowing from my lips as I walked a bit on the campus.  As the sun shined down on me, I felt Him shining down on me also.

Dear Jesus,
Thank You for the blessing of yesterday…for the reminders…for the words…for the encouragement!  You are so awesome!  I am so blessed by You.  Father, I pray for those on my list that need to rid themselves of "burial clothes" that are keeping them out of a full relationship with You.  I pray for them to get to the end of themselves and to be filled with fear and trembling for You.  Father, more of You and less of me…that is the desire of my heart.  Lord, fill me emotionally, physically, mentally but most of all spiritually.  I must admit that there is no better place to be than in a full relationship with You.  As I was sharing with a friend this morning and the Holy Spirit goosebumps came down upon me, I was blessed mightily.  Thank You Jesus for being My Fullness!  Amen.


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