Philippians 2:5-11 NKJV
Psalm 51:1-8 ESV
(Referenced: Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Joshua 1:9, Chronicles 28:20, Psalm 55:22, Psalm 73:23, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 31:1, Micah 7:7-8, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5-6).
UN Series
Sometimes knowing where you stand is very important, especially with God.
I know I am a child of the most high God.
I know I am human.
I know God is God and I am NOT God of anything.
There are things I do not know because I am human.
God took on the form of a human but was still God. He can do that because He is God.
Philippians 2:5-11 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
The mystery is the Gospel message is that God who was fully God became fully human. God was so human that He died to his humanity and He rose again. Jesus, the Son of God IS God.
Because I am human and Jesus is God, I bow and confess that Jesus is God and I am not.
The strange thing about that is as I get older I am ever more convinced of my human condition. I think there are a number of reasons for that.
First, I have witnessed things God has done. I’ve seen God heal what man could not heal. I’ve witnessed the unknown become clear when God spoke through a dream. I’ve been present when an ungodly, unbelieving human came to the realization that God IS God. I’ve seen first hand how God changed them in an instant from a harsh mean human into a kinder gentler human who was filled with the Spirit of the living God.
I was almost certain they would never change…but because of God they DID change.
I am evermore convinced of my humanity because when I feel like I’m too tired and too frazzled, God lifts me up and carries me.
I am convinced because everyday when I write and draw, I know God is my helper and guide. There are days when I have no idea what to say or what to write. When it gets like that, I stop and sit in the silence of God.
I wait.
I let God love on me.
I take in His love and I give God permission to fill me with His Spirit.
I wait for as long as it takes. While I wait for God to fill me up, I speak words of love. I lay my humanity and my short-comings at the feet of God.
I tell God I need forgiveness.
I realize my sin is ever before me. God fills me up.
From Psalm 51:1-4 David’s words come to my mind:
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin! For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words and blameless in your judgment.”
I’m old enough that I cannot always remember things I did when I was 20 years old, but the Spirit brings scriptures to my mind like it was the day I first read it.
I remember the first time I realized I need God’s forgiveness when I was a child, Psalm 51:5-8 says, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.
Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being, and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones that you have broken rejoice.”
The wisdom that is in me is not my own. It’s a gift from the Most High God.
I receive God’s cleansing and I rejoice.
I rejoice in knowing that though I am human, God is God who will never leave me or forsake me (Deuteronomy 31:6-8, Joshua 1:9, Chronicles 28:20, Psalm 55:22, Psalm 73:23, Isaiah 41:10, Jeremiah 31:1, Micah 7:7-8, Matthew 28:20, Hebrews 13:5-6).
Ultimately, I do not hold onto God, God holds onto me, for I AM Human.
Today’s Spiritual Practice is: Human
Let yourself BE human. Relax and let go of all thoughts that tell you that you are capable and reliable. Let go and let God fill you with the Spirit of the Most High God. LET God BE God IN you. It is a crazy journey and I am thankful that God brings us along for the glorious ride.
In God, Deborah
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