Skip to main content

Open and Willing

Mark 4:10-11
“But when He was alone, those around Him with the twelve asked Him about the parable. And He said to them, “To you it has been given to know the mystery of the kingdom of God; but to those who are outside, all things come in parables.”
The Lord uses His Word to build relationships with His chosen people. However, not everyone will have the desire to listen to what His word is attempting to portray and as Mark 4:25 says, “To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.” The Lord speaks to each of us in different ways but we have to be willing to receive for Him to reveal more. Math class was always my weakest subject in high school and on into college. I remember constantly struggling because I was unwilling to want to learn. Had I approached the subject with an attitude set to succeed instead of having ears unwilling to listen, the opportunity to have a greater understanding would have been an option. Similarly, I have not always had the most eager approach in regards to learning about the Lord. I had a brief understanding of what is was He did for me but I was unwilling to want to learn more because I did not understand the fullness of walking with Him. However, through these past three months of training and intense prayer, the Lord has softened my heart towards Him, giving me an attitude eager to seek and understand who He is and how to form a personal relationship with Him. The Lord can use an open and willing heart, but the moment we tighten the lid, He is unable to penetrate through it until we once again allow Him to. When our hearts are open and willing, the Lord has the ability to speak to us, all while centering us in His perfect will for our life. 

 Application
This week, I will write open and willing on my arm to remind myself to ask the Lord to keep my heart softened towards Him.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Overwhelming Conflict

Psalms 91:2 “I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.””  This past Sunday, team Uganda had the privilege to lead the two church services. From worship to the sermon, the Lord was present. Having never sung in front of really anyone to being on the worship team and having not one, but two solos, was rather frightening. In addition to having a spirit of fear, the morning of, I was faced with a myriad of conflict as a glob of toothpaste dropped slyly onto the shirt I was planning on wearing, I did not have a necklace to match the shirt I then had to put on, and I ran out of time for curling my hair and ironing my skirt. I knew the enemy was seeking to do whatever he could to focus my eyes on myself rather than on what the Lord was attempting to do in and through me for that day, but I was already defeated and left wondering how a day that had begun so terribly could have a positive outcome. I needed a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spir...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Transformation

Mark 7:17 “There is nothing that enters a man from outside which can defile him; but the thins which come out of him, those are the things that defile a man.” As I was reading my devotional this morning, it touched on something that I had said early on in my time here in Uganda: “You can’t run from sin because you can’t run from you.” Sin truly does live in my heart and it is only when I run to Jesus, who is the only One who can deliver me from myself, that my heart can be radically transformed. I can and have attempted in my own strength to change my heart, but this has only led to condemnation and failure. The Lord never asked me to fix myself, He has asked me to do nothing other than cry out to Him at street level so that He can fix me in my most broken state. That is how He wants me: battered, bruised, and broken because this is when I am honest; this is when I want nothing more than for the Father to fix what I have ruined, again. But, when I attempt to change what only the L...
Post a Comment
Read more

Selfless Love

Romans 15:1 “We who are strong ought to bear with the fallings of the weak and not to please ourselves.” Hebrews 6:10 reminds us, “God is not unjust; he will not forget your work and the love you have shown him as you have helped his people and continue to help them.” Our God is faithful to His promises, rewarding those who are humble, who become weak to win the weak, who bear the burden, and who love selflessly. However, we as humans are deceiving as we do almost everything to benefit ourselves in one way or another. Especially when it comes to others, helping someone can sometimes quickly become a personal gain that we use to make ourselves seem superior to the one whom we are helping. However, we are called to love others the way in which Christ has loved us, selflessly. To love selflessly is to humble ourselves and love without gain, bearing the burden of another simply to encourage them in their battle and allow them to recognize that they are not alone. Life is difficult as ...
Post a Comment
Read more