Do you cling to what
is familiar? I do. Old friends have proven themselves
trustworthy; I would not want to give them up.
Old methods have been reliable; why should I take a chance on something
different? Old clothes fit comfortably
and make me feel more myself; stiff new clothes do not always fit my
ever-changing shape as I grow older.
We can cling to
things in our souls too. Self-pity is an
old friend I tend to hide with when I do not want to face unpleasant
circumstances; if I give it up I may have to admit my part of the problem. I have always shared Christ by my actions;
why should I take a chance on turning someone off by vocalizing just what He’s
done in my life? Reading my Bible and a
quiet little prayer time have always worked to make me feel closer to God;
adding personal worship and giving thanks might take me out of my comfort zone
of “warm fuzzies” with God.
“Do not say, why were the
old days better than these? For it is
not wise…” (Ecc. 7:10 AMP)
Do you tend to get
into your “comfort zone” of old ways and thinking? I do.
I get comfortable with my concept of God and His love for me. When I get comfortable I relax my walk, rest
from the spiritual fights and let my guard down. WHAM!
All of a sudden everything seems to go wrong. “Lord, what did I do? What did I DO?!” I have become like a pond with no fresh water
coming into it. The water stagnates,
becomes filled with debris, and decay makes it stink.
“Purge (clean out) the old leaven
that you may be fresh…uncontaminated…” (1 Cor. 5:7 AMP)
For the pond to stay
fresh and pure an uncontaminated water source must feed it continually.
“Don’t lie to each other.
You have taken off those old clothes—the person you once were and the bad
things you did then. Now you are wearing
a new life, a life that is new every day. You are growing in your understanding
of the one who made you. You are becoming more and more like him.” (Col. 3:9-10 ERV)
“…a life that is new every
day…” sounds like a
continual flow to me. A continual flow
of fresh and pure water into the pond to keeps it from causing decay. So how do we keep this new freshness ever in
the process?
“For my determined purpose
is that I may…progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with
Him…and that I may in the same way come to know the power outflowing from His
resurrection…” (Phil. 3:10 AMP)
“Progressively” kind of sounds like “ever
in the process” does it not? It is a
partnership with God. I purpose to
progressively become more deeply and intimately acquainted with Him and He
provides the power of His resurrection to continually transform me.
Let me challenge you
to become that pond which holds His fresh and pure “living water” (John 4) for
others to drink from and be refreshed. Draw
closer to Him and watch the marvels He does in your life and in the lives of
those around you.
