A Community of Grace »

Fifteen years of “stuff” was loaded into a large truck and hauled off. When first purchased, these items seemed necessary to everyday life. Now, however, they are combined under one name: junk.

Through the years, many of us have collected stuff of a different nature. We’ve formed and acquired patterns for coping with the struggles of life: methods of self-protection, modes of soothing anxious and hurt emotions and habits for dealing with difficult circumstances and people. We deemed these acquired patterns necessary to ensure a productive and happy life. Yet as we grow closer to Jesus, we realize such patterns of coping can be harmful to ourselves, as well as to others. Now, they’ve become our junk.

Junk comes in many forms but has common characteristics. Junk weighs us down and clutters our lives. Maintaining it makes us weary. What we first sought for provision and protection soon inflicts harm on us instead. Our junk hinders the abundant life we were meant to live. Speaking to a group of junk-laden people, Jesus made an amazing offer:

“Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30).

The removal of the physical junk brought a lightness to my soul. In much greater measure, the grace of God poured into our lives can free us from the heavy burdens we needlessly lay upon ourselves when we choose to manage our lives independently of Him. Through time spent with Jesus, He reveals the lie-based beliefs and behaviors we’ve acquired. He shows us His way, relieving and refreshing our souls with His truth. With Christ as our wisdom and strength, His ways of facing life’s challenges become our pattern for living.

Are you clinging to any junk?

Will you go to Jesus and ask Him to reveal and exchange your heavy load for His easy and light yoke?

She’d been a child of God for many years though, in recent days, her choices did not reflect it. The consequences of those choices now felt overwhelming. In her exhaustion, she saw only one way out: It was time to live God’s way. She was ready to submit. She was ready to obey.

“She” could be any one of us. She could be you or me. Her struggle to submit to the will and ways of God is not new, but one that has plagued God’s children since the beginning.

For many years, the nation of Israel faced a brutal foe in the Assyrian army. Facing that threat again, God gave His children a battleplan:

“In repentance and rest is your deliverance, in quietness and trust is your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

What God said next indicates mankind’s rebellious tendency: “But you would have none of it.” In the midst of an attack, they chose to rely on their own wisdom and desires. As a result, they suffered great consequences. They suffered a great defeat.

Satan is our brutal foe. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. He is cunning, seeking to lead us away from being fully devoted to Christ (1 Peter 5:8, 2 Corinthians 11:3,14). Succumbing to Satan’s lures of temptation have brutal effects. Yet the same hope God offered the nation of Israel is ours to embrace as well:

“The LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion…Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, ‘This is My way, walk in it.’” Isaiah 30:18, 21

The grace of God is our way out of sin:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Submit yourselves, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and He will come near to you.” James 4:6-8

For every area of temptation, in each place of defeat, come near to God. Humble yourself before Him in repentance, choosing to live by His will and His ways. He will release, restore and rebuild your life from the ravages inflicted by sin.

 “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.” 1 Peter 5:6

Dr. Jeremiah joined a group of American missionaries to minister to the people of the Maasai tribe in southern Kenya. As a fellow Kenyan, he understood the Maasai’s plight more clearly than most: “They are some of the richest people in Kenya, yet they live like the poorest.” The Maasai are nomadic cattle herders. Cows are viewed as sacred and when a man possesses a large herd he is considered wealthy. Yet even those who own large herds often lack necessities. Largely, the Maasai people don’t understand how to acquire or sell cattle to increase their herd and obtain money for basic provisions. Though possessing great means, many live in abject poverty.

The same is true for many of God’s people. We are spiritually wealthy! God has given us everything we need to live in holiness with great power and victory. Without the proper knowledge, however, we will live in spiritual poverty. Ephesians 1:3 explains what we have:

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.”

Every God-given provision and blessing stored in heaven can be brought to earth through the Holy Spirit, the life of Christ in us. There’s no reason for God’s people to lack anything. The days of living as spiritual paupers can be over, but we must understand how to utilize what we already possess. Hebrews 4:16 tells us how:

“Let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

As we ask God to meet our needs, choosing not to provide for ourselves through our own understanding and means, He will provide. He will give us exactly what we need, at the exact time we need it, in His perfectly-ordained ways.

What do you need today?

Will you confidently ask God, calling upon the “herd” of provision and blessings He has already provided for you in Christ Jesus?