Boast In The Lord January 12th, 2023
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I remember those summer days in Asbury Park, NJ when Jesus clearly called me into His Kingdom. Becoming a Christian was not on the oceanside plan while on break from college that summer. Break had already started well with a job on the boardwalk. But over a span of four days in early July my world would be confronted with the reality of His existence. I could do nothing but give Him my life.
I didn’t really know what that meant. And no one really told me. I knew I had made a decision to life-journey with Christ, but I wasn’t aware that He had made a decision to life-journey with me. This was a total surprise.
I began to read something extraordinary and counter-cultural as I opened His Word during those first weeks. Jesus simply said “follow me.” It suggested that He would go before me. It suggested that the journey is, at its heart, a call to follow Him, instead of Him following me.
I began to understand It as that shepherd piece of His love and ministry.
But can I trust Him with life decisions? Are His promises true? Maybe He has too many people to care about? After all, it is a big world! These were some questions I had!
But He tells me that seeking first the Kingdom results in all other things being added. That is a challenge and risk. But that summer He was teaching me His closeness in my daily life. I couldn’t really understand what it all meant for the future, but I was ready to go “all in”. There really was no other alternative that made rational sense based on what I was reading in the Gospels.
Then I read the 23rd Psalm and it became clear. He was taking a shepherd’s responsibility; my part was to follow Him.
As I reflect on all of this, I look back over my years and realize He has never let me be in particular “want” of anything. He has shown me those quiet waters of renewal and meaning; He has had me lie down in green, good pastures. He has rested my soul when I didn’t even realize I needed it. I have been in some shadows of death for sure, but that proverbial table where I could be at peace and even have a meal of His setting would prove so real.
His shepherding of life has shown me that He is intimately acquainted and present in life’s twists and turns. And I know that I will dwell in His very house forever. As I reflect and boast in the Lord this new year, it starts with a deep gratitude to Jesus who is ever present in my real life, even in the hardships.
I didn’t really know what that meant. And no one really told me. I knew I had made a decision to life-journey with Christ, but I wasn’t aware that He had made a decision to life-journey with me. This was a total surprise.
I began to read something extraordinary and counter-cultural as I opened His Word during those first weeks. Jesus simply said “follow me.” It suggested that He would go before me. It suggested that the journey is, at its heart, a call to follow Him, instead of Him following me.
I began to understand It as that shepherd piece of His love and ministry.
But can I trust Him with life decisions? Are His promises true? Maybe He has too many people to care about? After all, it is a big world! These were some questions I had!
But He tells me that seeking first the Kingdom results in all other things being added. That is a challenge and risk. But that summer He was teaching me His closeness in my daily life. I couldn’t really understand what it all meant for the future, but I was ready to go “all in”. There really was no other alternative that made rational sense based on what I was reading in the Gospels.
Then I read the 23rd Psalm and it became clear. He was taking a shepherd’s responsibility; my part was to follow Him.
As I reflect on all of this, I look back over my years and realize He has never let me be in particular “want” of anything. He has shown me those quiet waters of renewal and meaning; He has had me lie down in green, good pastures. He has rested my soul when I didn’t even realize I needed it. I have been in some shadows of death for sure, but that proverbial table where I could be at peace and even have a meal of His setting would prove so real.
His shepherding of life has shown me that He is intimately acquainted and present in life’s twists and turns. And I know that I will dwell in His very house forever. As I reflect and boast in the Lord this new year, it starts with a deep gratitude to Jesus who is ever present in my real life, even in the hardships.
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Posted in Boast In The Lord
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