The War Inside...

Read this from Oswald Chambers the other day and found it really interesting and worth sharing....

"Life without war is impossible in the natural or the supernatural realm. It is a fact that there is a continuing struggle in the physical, mental, moral, and spiritual areas of life.

Health is the balance between the physical parts of my body and all the things and forces surrounding me. To maintain good health I must have sufficient internal strength to fight off the things that are external. Everything outside my physical life is designed to cause my death. The very elements that sustain me while I am alive work to decay and disintegrate my body once it is dead. If I have enough inner strength to fight, I help to produce the balance needed for health. The same is true of the mental life. If I want to maintain a strong and active mental life, I have to fight. This struggle produces the mental balance called thought.

Morally it is the same. Anything that does not strengthen me morally is the enemy of virtue within me. Whether I overcome, thereby producing virtue, depends on the level of moral excellence in my life. But we must fight to be moral. Morality does not happen by accident; moral virtue is acquired.

And spiritually it is also the same. Jesus said, “In the world you will have tribulation . . .” (John 16:33). This means that anything which is not spiritual leads to my downfall. Jesus went on to say, “. . . but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” I must learn to fight against and overcome the things that come against me, and in that way produce the balance of holiness. Then it becomes a delight to meet opposition.

Holiness is the balance between my nature and the law of God as expressed in Jesus Christ."

I climbed a mountain.....

I climbed a mountain this week. Yes, an actual mountain in South Dakota... Actually the highest one east of the Rockies and west of the Pyrenees (in Europe)! To reach the summit of Harney Peak, it was about a 6mi hike up a 1,100ft elevation climb, which for this out of shape, Texas girl was quite challenging. It took almost 5 hrs (there was a really cool, old fire lookout station at the top). That much walking gives time for a person to think and reflect. For me, it was enough time to develop a metaphor of sorts.....

As Christians, our lives are directed by God. I think that, many times, life with Him consists of "mountain climbs" that we must make in order to be taught something. Now, I'm not referring to a spiritual "mountain top" metaphor about being "high" on the Spirit... This is a different thought altogether. ;)

I believe that God is constantly teaching us and shaping us into the person He knows we are. I think that, like a mountain climb, it can be really challenging for us to get to the "point" of what He is trying to teach us because we are so focused on the strenuousness of the climb. On this hike, I had the advantage of knowing what was at the top of the mountain... What I was climbing toward. Whenever I thought I was about to die, I would remember that I wanted to see the tower at the top. Many times we do not have the advantage of seeing what God is trying to teach us until we get to the top. Occasionally, like on that hike, we can turn a corner on the path and see a portion of the "point." Those glimpses can be encouraging to us to keep going. 

Sometimes it is a long climb, other times a shorter one. Sometimes it is a steep climb, other times a slow grade. Many times we complain most of the way. Sometimes we travel a little ways with others, sometimes we simply pass them on the way up. Sometimes we stop for a break, but we must never give up. 

A point I will need to think more on is whether we can, in fact, give up and never reach the "point" where God is trying to take us. Perhaps a later blog entry... If I figure that one out. ;)

Anyway, that is what I learned on my hike... Oh, and that I need to get into shape before my next mountain climb....

Post-grad thoughts.... It's a journey.

As I move into a new chapter of my life, my goal is to seek the face of my Lord. I know that if I am focused on Him, He will place everything in its proper place. I will have no need to worry because He will work out everything in His perfect timing. I don’t know what the future holds. I don’t know what friends I will see again. I don’t even know where I will be working after June. But one thing that I do know is that my God is good- all the time.

I will not lie and say that I do not feel a level of anxiety about not having everything planned out, but I will say that what supersedes that is a peace that passes understanding. For I am told “do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil 4:6-7).

As I continue on this journey, I realize that I do not want to be the author of my life story… I want God to be the one that writes it. In doing so, I therefore must not trust in my own understanding, but must trust in the Lord with all of my heart (Pr 3:5).

I am commanded to “trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 36:3-4). And most importantly, to “commit your ways to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act…. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Ps 36:5,7). I am, by far, not a patient person. God has perfect timing, but it doesn’t always seem so perfect to me. I must learn that faith includes trusting in His timeline, not my own.

These are the thoughts that drive my desire to completely trust Him. I am on a journey to discover how that looks and what that will require. A journey does not only take us somewhere, but in the process it makes us who we are. May I grow into the woman God desires me to be through this journey of faith and new chapter of post-grad life.