Refined, Sanctified, and Humbled..Ouch!

I am not my own, I have been carried by You.

Everything rides on hope now. Everything rides on faith somehow.

So, when the world has broken me down. Your love sets me free.

-Addison Road.

I literally am listening to this song on repeat: just letting that Truth run through my heart.

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

God is taking me through the refining fire, sanctifying me.

BUT.. it is hard and it hurts sometimes. That is why it is called a fire though, right?

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Letting it sink in.

God is calling me to big things. "Big things," require obedience and sacrifice. This is all dandy, except for when I try to do it on my own. When I try to take on the world with my own strength, it never works out right and I end up feeling really alone. I then become very frustrated and confused. I begin to question those callings, I ask why me? Why is this on my shoulders? Why am I responsible?

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Ohhhhh, yeah.

Praise God for best friends, and Proverbs 27:17.

As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.

Tonight, my best friend Mika and I were chattin' it up about life and because God is so good, the conversation always reverts back to Him. I began to tell her of my frustrations and the questions that I had. She very lovingly brought to my attention the fact that I had used the words I and me, quite a bit during my rant. She reminded me that, IT IS NOT ABOUT ME. If God has called me to it, He will bring me through it. (Okay, that is cheesey and she didn't exactly say that but the same point was made.) It is so true.

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Lightbulb. Ding, ding, ding.

I have been bought with a price. I am not my own. I have been called to greater things that are bigger than this world. But, by no means does the Lord ask me to do it by myself. He doesn't ask something of me, then leave me to fend for myself. He provides a way, He gives me the strength, and He equips me. He carries me through it. He gives me precious friends that give me a kick in the pants when I get wrapped up in myself.

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Praise God.

IT IS NOT ABOUT ME! No matter what, I can rest in Jesus and the fact that IT IS ALL ABOUT HIM. His love sets me free. I am free!

Everything rides on hope now, everything rides on Faith somehow.

When the world has broken me down, Your love sets me free.

Jesus, I am expectant of You and the lives that will be changed because of Your love and Your grace. I will put my faith in what You have called me to do.

Regardless of what the world throws at me, Your love sets me FREE.

I am so thankful for friends like Mika, who aren't afraid to love on me and give a swift kick when my thoughts get jacked. She knows when I need to be humbled, and lovingly brings me back to my knees. I know that she is constantly praying for me-- Praise God because I can't do it on my own.

Refining and sanctification hurt and the process is hard but the end result is beautiful. I become more like Christ!

"I am not my own, I have been carried by You."

Love.

¹If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ²If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. ³If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. ¹¹When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. ¹²Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

1 Corinthians 13

Okay, so I am going to be honest with you all. I have read 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 SO MANY TIMES. That is not the honesty that I am letting you in on, but the fact that I have neglected the rest of chapter 13 SO MANY TIMES.

I read the rest of the chapter just recently and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Praise God for that, right?

Here is what The Lord so mercifully showed me: I can preach the gospel, I can have an incredible knowledge of the Word, and I can have faith that will move mountains but if I have not love, I AM NOTHING.

Yes, I know you can read the passage and understand that clearly, but to take it to heart is a completely different story. SO MANY TIMES I throw the saying, "Just love them" around. I had to ask myself, what does that even mean? How do you just love someone? Someone that you have nothing in common with, that drives you nuts, that intimidates you, even someone that doesn't love you back. What does that actually look like?

Well, let's take it from scripture. Be patient with them, be kind, do not envy them, do not boast about who you are, do not be proud. Don't be rude, do not just seek what is good for you, do not be easily angered with them, don't keep record of their wrongs. Do not delight in the evil in your or their life, but rejoice in the truth. Protect them, show them trust and be trustworthy, always hope the best for them, always persevere through whatever it is going on.

This is what punctured my heart, Do not delight in evil but rejoice in truth. Regardless of what my friends might think, I can not delight in the evil that they, me, or we do. I have got to stand for truth. I am called to have joy in the truth, rejoice in it. That makes me think of my friends who do not know Jesus. Do I delight in the evil of their lives, or share the hope that I have? Share Jesus and the abundant life that He is offering them? Then, hopefully rejoice with them when they choose the truth that I was able to share with them. Yikesamillion. Huge question. Huge responsibility.

Even as I write all of this, this is what goes through my mind. Okay Monica, so you realize what it means to actually, "Just love them." You are even blogging about it. Back to verse 1,

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

If I only talk (or write) about this then I am clanging cymbal. I absolutely have to show love. I must live in it. Choose love constantly. Now is the time, here is the challenge. LET'S GO.

My prayer is that verses 8-13 are made so real to me.

I cannot wait to see Jesus face to face. Man, it just brings me such joy knowing that is in my future. Now I only know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. GUYS!!!! That is huge. God knows us fully, absolutely! Every sinful disgusting thing, but He shows me LOVE. He is love. He is the Gospel. He lived it out, He died for it. It is now my turn, I must choose holiness over sin. I must choose Jesus and die to my sin daily. I must love the lost more than myself.

Again I say, LET'S GO.