Reflective and Thankful

I have had a lot of things on my mind lately as I have been studying Scriptures that pertain to End of Days events. Daily life has also brought its peculiar observations about the world, people, and myself. All of this has been stoking such gratitude in my heart that I get to belong to God that I wanted to blog some reflections, on a personal note.

I'm at a place in my life where in every major area I am facing the unknown. There are lots of loose ends as I wait for God to lead me in the way I should go. There are critical circumstances outside of my control. There are also many needs, and lots of desires that I've entrusted to Him. I'm telling you this so that you know I'm not speaking from a position of being full and comfortable. Yet my life is filled with good things. These good things happen to be mostly invisible spiritual blessings but I am so very aware of them.

For example, I remember when waiting on God caused me great distress. I didn't trust Him very much so anxiety about people and things consumed me. I recall when my life was filled with negative emotions, useless strivings to improve myself, constant pessimism and dissatisfaction. There was a time when the circumstances I'm surrounded with presently would have probably drowned me in a sense of hopelessness. Instead, today I have peace. My heart is quiet. I truly apprehend the necessity and the benefits of waiting on God. This, coming from a person who used to earnestly pray for a "blueprint" to follow (seriously)...who would have thought I would get to this place? But all of this is more evidence of how much change His Word will bring to our way of thinking and living if we let it.

I marvel at the 'then' and 'now' pictures of what God has already given and done, particularly in my inner life. Every smidgen of growth and refinement is the result, wholly and solely, of His grace - His mercy, compassion, patience and unrelenting love. Surprisingly (although it shouldn't be) these benefits were realized out of trials and other resistance which compelled me to turn to His word and prayer. By the grace of God I was saved. And now by that same grace, I've been launched into a life-sustaining journey of knowing Him more.

Today, on a personal note, I encourage you to take the time to weigh the spiritual blessings in your life. Where you are right now may really be hard but if you stay the course, clinging to God, you will see change where it matters most - in your own heart and in your relationship with Him. Knowing God more and more as He really is makes all the difference. Being known by God as His own makes it all worth it.

As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. 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. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:1-10