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Colossians 2:6-7 (NASB) “Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with gratitude.”
Take a moment and pray that the Lord will speak to you in this time of study.
My mirror has reflected, lately, a person I knew long ago — a person who was fearful and anxious and lacking self-control. Someone who listened intently to the dialogue of the enemy telling her she is all those things she used to believe.
The words that he, the king of lies, tells are the words that had been washed away in those moments of new beginning in Christ’s amazing grace and faith. But, as I have been worn and weary in my faith-walk these past few months, I have allowed that inner dialogue of the enemy to convince me of those things I was. I have shut out the voice of my Savior. How could I be loved ‘dirty’? How could the King of kings, the Almighty, love me and cherish me and tell me I am beautiful; when all I see are cracks and brokenness, when all I hear resonating in my heart and spirit is, “You are not worthy,” “You are a mother who yells, a wife who nags, an absent friend.”? I hear this over and over to the point of exhaustion. I was at a loss. How do I overcome these vicious lies? Truthfully, my heart kept pointing me to Christ, but my mind was resigned to believe the attacks.
I had never thought I could be saved again, and again, and again. I mean, I am saved in Christ. I know my salvation is secure. But I never grasped that He could fill me with the grace I felt that “hour I first believed.” I never entertained the notion that by “grace through faith I am saved.” Over and over. The grace of our Lord, Jesus Christ is bread and water to my hungry and parched spirit time and time again. I can send the demon of insecurity and condemnation fleeing by the mere mention of His, the Almighty’s, name … Jesus. The funny thing is that I tell my children, in the face of their fears, to call on Jesus. I implore them to find strength in the Lord with great abandon, relying on Him fully to vanquish that which is not of Him. Why, then, can’t I stand firm on that promise?
In walked the Chaplain. Brett Johnson brought to light a picture of humility and transparency. Sharing his heart in bold and raw measure. He implored me (us) to seek God’s grace, invite Him to fill us with the same, exact, earth-shattering grace we felt that “hour we first believed.” Chaplain Johnson, in the Lord’s strength, gave us a call to arms, a mission to seek our Heavenly Father when we are dirty and worn and famished. He urged us to break the mirror of lies and believe that of the Father, the mirror that reflects only Jesus. He gave us a charge to become Candidates for Revival.
I needed to hear that, in my dirty, worn, broken, haphazard condition, the Lord still loves me. He loves me more because I am desperate for Him. Every fiber of my being is parched and dry, and I need to be quenched with the Living Water that flows freely from the Well of Jesus. I am made whole in Him … again and again and again.
I share my prayer with you. May you feel His abundant grace over and over filling the cracks of your brokenness with God-gold. May you be quenched by His Living Water.
Dear Father God,
I repent of my sins. I repent of the times of unkindness and ruthlessness. I repent of being tempted by the desires of this world. I repent of the lies I have listened to and believed. I repent of my inability to hold Your hand. Lord I come to You with a contrite heart. I come to You with empty hands. I ask You to fill me. Fill me, Lord, with Your grace and mercy. Help me, Father, to forgive myself. Help me, Father, to seek You when I am in the throes of frustration or anxiety or temptation. Lord, Your LOVE is enough to right my paths and bring me back to Your heart. I seek revival. I seek to be full of the Spirit of God. I stand firm on the foundation of Christ. I stand clothed in the Armor of God. I am a child of the One True God. I have been purchased by the blood of the Lamb. My transgressions are far from me. I am made whole in the abundant goodness of Christ.
Thank You, Lord, for giving us immeasurable forgiveness and grace and love. I am free. I am His. I am loved. In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen!
Beloved, become a candidate for revival. Let the Lord love you dirty and broken. Let the Lord wash you white in His amazing grace!
Samantha Ewing
The devotionals this week are based on the message, “Candidates for Revival” by Chaplain (CPT) Brett Johnson at KPC. To hear this week’s message go to www.kpc.org/watch_listen.
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