Seeking God's Reflection
Jan 9, 2021 at 7:57 AM
May your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
Woke up early and realized something. Yesterday was Friday. I let my guard down, intended to sleep by 10:30 PM but ended up watching a martial arts movie until midnight, which has always been my entertainment preference. This morning, when the alarm rang at 5:30, still half asleep, I casually told myself: today is Saturday; let’s get up later. So when I finally woke up, it was already 7:30.
Like the Israelites who escaped from Egypt, I’ve left the past behind and started a new life, but still think about “the days of slavery in Egypt” and want to return to the “pleasures of sin.”
It seems that life in Christ can feel like a burden, making it necessary to temporarily put aside these heavy loads during weekends and holidays to enjoy leisure by worldly standards, sometimes even indulging without restraint.
This is the first time I’ve thought about the idea that “life in Christ is a heavy burden.” I prayed, asking God to help me understand that rest includes resting in Christ.
Paul prayed for us: May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thessalonians 5:23)
No one can keep their own spirit, soul, and body sanctified to be blameless before the entirely holy and righteous God. It’s God’s work to make me (and us) completely sanctified (to meet God’s standard of holiness). So what should I do? I think I should love God with all my heart, soul, and mind. I should exert my mind, temperament, intellect, and will to love God. Relying only on feelings isn’t enough.
Following Brother Chambers’ recommendation, I read Psalm 139, moved by God’s preservation of me (and humanity), which is far beyond what we can imagine:
1 O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar;
…
13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
…
16 Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.
Thankfulness:
Communicated with Brother L this morning; I’ve basically made a decision;
Stuck to my 5:30 AM devotional and read 5 chapters of the Bible every day for a week. Thank God for guidance; (indeed, I’ve worked hard, using my will and strength to persist. But my willingness and the feelings I have during my devotion come from the work of the Holy Spirit in me.)
Communicated with Brother YT. (Read 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13: “Now we ask you, brothers and sisters, to acknowledge those who work hard among you, who care for you in the Lord and who admonish you. Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.”)