Written on my Heart

Well, I mentioned I would post about my bible study again this week and right on cue, on the last day of my 2nd week of study, God overwhelmed with to the point of tears. again. He's good. I am fairly sure I have never cried this much in the first 2 weeks of a bible study.

The videos start off the following week for us...and I loved this...so many of us are living as "Spiritual Hillbillies"...we are not tapping into the resource of the Holy Spirit already in us! (Ok...maybe it's because of where I live that I love that remark, but it's good!). We are all made up of a body, a spirit and a soul. When he takes up residence in us (when we become believers), our core (soul) completely changes. This is why non-believers can be "good" and moral people. They still have a soul and a conscience to help direct their choices, but ours is now being taken over and shaped by the Holy Spirit, not just by our surroundings and upbringing. I want to be taking advantage of all that the Holy Spirit has for me, his full presence in my soul, not just be a "good" person.

Here is what I've learned this week:
Day 1 - to trust simply because He has promised to lead me, even when I don't see miraculous visual signs. He didn't promise to lead me in a way that appeals to my senses, he promised to lead me in a way that appeals to my spirit...the Holy Spirit in me.
Day 2 - When I became a Christian, my spirit became new, but instead of being just changed, I became exhanged. As I surrender, He begins to reprogram my conscience. But I have to open my spiritual ears to hear the Holy Spirit's guidance.
Day 3 - Another great visual...the Holy Spirit is God's control tower, like at an airport. "He sees the end from the beginning and wants to guide us through life." The Holy Spirit will NEVER tell me something that isn't in God's will, He speaks only what He hears from God. That is very comforting to me in the midst of big decisions.
Day 4 - This one was a "Wow" moment...Romans 12:1 - "present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice" - You've read that before,right? Here's the Wow...Paul isn't saying that we have to fight really hard to have victory with our bodies, he's saying "Hey...just present and surrender your body". For someone who has fought body-blahs for so many years, this hit me like a ton of bricks. It's that simple. surrender. Ok...not simple, but easier than fighting!
Day 5 - And here the tears fell. He writes his law on my mind, my heart (a scripture we've all heard a million times, I know..but oh, how he can make things new). The tears fell because God immediately reminded me of the time J was extremely sick in NICU, 1 1/2 months old..I thought he would die. As the nurses and doctors worked, I was all alone in the hallway and heard "Be still". I knew He had it, no matter what. I knew J would be ok. That has NEVER left me and God showed me today why...because He wrote that in my mind and on my heart. He loves me, little me, one of a bazillion humans in the world...loves me enough to (1) speak to me, (2) to remind me of it on a Wednesday morning 11 years later and (3) etch it permanantly into my heart...imagine that visually. It's beautiful. If I will keep opening my heart and eyes to Him and to His Word, how many more writings will he make on my heart? I am overwhelmed at the thought...in a good way.

One last thought for you to ponder..."Desiring and doing His will is not our responsibility to discover, it's His responsibility to reveal." THAT takes a load off, doesn't it? Quit focusing on His will and focus on HIM. Quit focusing on the end results and focus on the process. Get where I'm going here? Keep praying for the desires of your heart, to discern His wisdom, etc...but spend your time learning God, communicating with God, loving God...not just what He can do for you.

As Priscilla writes it so perfectly, "No longer do I frantically search for God's will; I frantically search for God." Wow.

I want to experience this closeness all. the. time. If this is what tapping into the Holy Spirit does for a body (soul and spirit), I WANT IT. It has been an amazing week.