Mosaic Mud Pie Warrior
Surrender requires humility and repentance and submission. It is an acknowledgement of power and authority with a conscious choice to turn from one thing and submit to another. In faith, it is choosing God and His ways over our own and the world's. Surrender is not waving a white flag and giving up to submit to capture and torture and separation from all we love. Instead it is looking around at the sickly, dying stuff of the flesh in the foxhole where we hide and choosing to stand strong and whole in battle next to the King of all kings who rules and reigns forever. And it is trusting that He is loving and faithful in all His ways as we become His warrior children in the Kingdom battle.
When we surrender to live in His Spirit, He searches our hearts. He reveals the depths of our souls. He speaks to our minds. He shows us the way to live. He heals. He restores. He renews. He rebuilds and refreshes and replenishes. So why do we keep running back to that stinky foxhole? We are human and we live in flesh in the world and are not yet perfected in Christ in this body and we take our eyes off of Him. And yet He stands there waiting for us to choose to stand strong and whole. He doesn't hold our cowardess against us. He keeps His gaze on us waiting for us to look to Him, seeking Him and seeing all He is and does and desires. And the truth is that we don't even have to exert effort to crawl out of the foxhole. When we look to Him and surrender our spirit to His, He lifts us out of that hole.
Gazing on Him for me is an automatic surrender. If my eyes are connected to His I can't help but see and feel and experience His love, fall into His arms in surrender, trust His ways are perfect, and rest in His power to overcome any and every enemy. Each moment of surrender gives opportunity for Him to take my every fleshly bent toward the foxhole and turn it into a God glorifying kingdom impacting fruit of the Spirit and character of Christ transforming moment. That is His plan for each of us. He created us with the patterns and personalities and passions we possess and planned from before time how He would take those things and use them for His glory as He transforms us in the likeness of His Son. And knowing that truth, we can stand firm in Him instead of wallowing in the foxhole.
This morning I commented to Him that a lot of my life has been spent in broken fragments but He has been faithful to pick up the pieces and create a mosaic of love and life and beauty. His response was "I know." And I said "Thank You." And He said "It was my pleasure and my plan. A mosaic is interesting and beautiful and a much better representation of the Artist's ability than a single pane of clear glass. Your broken fragments were for my glory."
He never moved away or turned His face from me when I was out there in the foxhole breaking the fragile things of this life like glass breaks in carelessness and defiance and despair. He stood there waiting for me to fix my eyes on Him and surrender. And I'm so glad because as I keep my eyes on Him I stand strong and whole at His side with His sword in my hand. I am His warrior wearing the mosaic armor of many colors while still a child dearly loved and cherished by her King.
Recently I wrote in my journal: "Papa - I have gotten my hands dirty like a child making mud pies out in the yard. I'd rather have chocolate on my face from licking the bowl of cake batter full of the ingredients of the character of Christ..." As I looked up at Him, the mud disappeared and He handed me a spoon. And He called me His special Mosaic Mud Pie Warrior. Sweet.
Luke 1:45-47 And Mary said, I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It's exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now. (The Message)
Psalm 40:2-3 He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God. (The Message)
Grasping the spoon,
amy
When we surrender to live in His Spirit, He searches our hearts. He reveals the depths of our souls. He speaks to our minds. He shows us the way to live. He heals. He restores. He renews. He rebuilds and refreshes and replenishes. So why do we keep running back to that stinky foxhole? We are human and we live in flesh in the world and are not yet perfected in Christ in this body and we take our eyes off of Him. And yet He stands there waiting for us to choose to stand strong and whole. He doesn't hold our cowardess against us. He keeps His gaze on us waiting for us to look to Him, seeking Him and seeing all He is and does and desires. And the truth is that we don't even have to exert effort to crawl out of the foxhole. When we look to Him and surrender our spirit to His, He lifts us out of that hole.
Gazing on Him for me is an automatic surrender. If my eyes are connected to His I can't help but see and feel and experience His love, fall into His arms in surrender, trust His ways are perfect, and rest in His power to overcome any and every enemy. Each moment of surrender gives opportunity for Him to take my every fleshly bent toward the foxhole and turn it into a God glorifying kingdom impacting fruit of the Spirit and character of Christ transforming moment. That is His plan for each of us. He created us with the patterns and personalities and passions we possess and planned from before time how He would take those things and use them for His glory as He transforms us in the likeness of His Son. And knowing that truth, we can stand firm in Him instead of wallowing in the foxhole.
This morning I commented to Him that a lot of my life has been spent in broken fragments but He has been faithful to pick up the pieces and create a mosaic of love and life and beauty. His response was "I know." And I said "Thank You." And He said "It was my pleasure and my plan. A mosaic is interesting and beautiful and a much better representation of the Artist's ability than a single pane of clear glass. Your broken fragments were for my glory."
He never moved away or turned His face from me when I was out there in the foxhole breaking the fragile things of this life like glass breaks in carelessness and defiance and despair. He stood there waiting for me to fix my eyes on Him and surrender. And I'm so glad because as I keep my eyes on Him I stand strong and whole at His side with His sword in my hand. I am His warrior wearing the mosaic armor of many colors while still a child dearly loved and cherished by her King.
Recently I wrote in my journal: "Papa - I have gotten my hands dirty like a child making mud pies out in the yard. I'd rather have chocolate on my face from licking the bowl of cake batter full of the ingredients of the character of Christ..." As I looked up at Him, the mud disappeared and He handed me a spoon. And He called me His special Mosaic Mud Pie Warrior. Sweet.
Luke 1:45-47 And Mary said, I'm bursting with God-news; I'm dancing the song of my Savior God. God took one good look at me, and look what happened— I'm the most fortunate woman on earth! What God has done for me will never be forgotten, the God whose very name is holy, set apart from all others. His mercy flows in wave after wave on those who are in awe before him. He bared his arm and showed his strength, scattered the bluffing braggarts. He knocked tyrants off their high horses, pulled victims out of the mud. The starving poor sat down to a banquet; the callous rich were left out in the cold. He embraced his chosen child, Israel; he remembered and piled on the mercies, piled them high. It's exactly what he promised, beginning with Abraham and right up to now. (The Message)
Psalm 40:2-3 He lifted me out of the ditch, pulled me from deep mud. He stood me up on a solid rock to make sure I wouldn't slip. He taught me how to sing the latest God-song, a praise-song to our God. More and more people are seeing this: they enter the mystery, abandoning themselves to God. (The Message)
Grasping the spoon,
amy
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