"I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God.
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
And arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout to come up,
and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make
righteousness and praise spring up before all the nations."
Isaiah 61:10-11
For he has clothed me with garments of salvation
And arrayed me in a robe of righteousness,
as a bridegroom adorns his head like a priest,
and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.
For as the soil makes the sprout to come up,
and a garden causes seeds to grow, so the Sovereign Lord will make
righteousness and praise spring up before all the nations."
Isaiah 61:10-11
God's grace never ceases to amaze me. It is early in the morning…before my second cup of coffee, my morning walk, my morning prayers, and my morning shower. Because of that, the truth of being clothed with His beautiful salvation and His beautiful righteousness is a little hard for me to grasp. Especially with the fog that clouds my mind the first hour I am awake. On top of that, I went to bed in need of God's grace and woke up thankful I could clothe myself in it! There is not a day that goes by I don't blurt out an angry word, have a hateful thought I would never want others to know about, or miss an opportunity to share the love of God with someone desperately needing it. There are also times I am aware of needing deeper intimacy with God, but seek relief from the discomfort of my need by turning to other things instead of allowing Him to meet the need. At those times I feel like the ugliness of sin and self-centeredness on the inside is visible to everyone and I want to withdraw from others and flee from God's presence. Amazingly, His love is strong enough and constantly tugs at my heart so I don't give in to those impulses and I embrace the truth that because of Jesus I have been clothed in His righteousness.
Over time I've learned God's love doesn't depend on how I feel. Even when I am at my worst and my own mind is telling me I am unlovable, the Scripture says He loves me and is constantly inviting me into His Holy presence. As I sit and wait in His presence, His ears are turned toward me, inviting me to share my heart with Him in complete transparency. As I pull back the layers of the garbage that are there, He rises up to meet me with His complete mercy and His relentless grace! He reminds me over and over that Christ's blood has covered my sin and my selfishness and He has planted His righteousness in my heart through the Holy Spirit. As I come to Him and lay sin and shame at His feet and voice the pain of deep needs, He meets me there. He causes His righteousness to spring forth from me like a seeds planted in a garden. That righteousness works itself out in a deep passionate love for God and for others. The work He has done on the inside becomes visible and beautiful like the ornaments a bride and groom wear, making me more grateful for His grace! His righteousness working out in my life is more consistent, more humbling, and more beautiful than the righteousness I try to muster up myself. It is in the process of letting the Lord look into the messiness of my heart and cleanse it and heal it that I return to joy and become who God designed me to be. I will rejoice in my Lord and be joyful in my God.
Just think, If you know the Lord, you, too, are clothed in His righteousness like a bride is clothed for her wedding day! It doesn't matter how we feel or what we've done or what we've thought--Christ's blood covers it all. In His grace, God chooses to do beautiful work in us! Let's commit to not hiding who we are, but openly sit at His feet and remember who He is. Let's pour our hearts out to Him, laying our sin, hurt, anger and doubt at His feet. Let's let Him cleanse, heal, and give us His peace and His courage. Let's let Him replace our morning "yucks" and evening "guilt" with adoration and praise for He has clothed us in beauty.
Prayer: Father, thank you for your grace that I need on a daily basis. Thank you for allowing me to lay my sin and my shame at His feet. Thank you for the righteousness you impart to me that springs forth from my innermost being. Please search my heart for anything and everything that dishonors you or hinders my relationship with you from growing deeper. I praise you for you are the Sovereign Lord who will make your righteousness spring up in your people before all the nations. Amen.
Prayer: Father, thank you for your grace that I need on a daily basis. Thank you for allowing me to lay my sin and my shame at His feet. Thank you for the righteousness you impart to me that springs forth from my innermost being. Please search my heart for anything and everything that dishonors you or hinders my relationship with you from growing deeper. I praise you for you are the Sovereign Lord who will make your righteousness spring up in your people before all the nations. Amen.
I really enjoyed your post Wendy. You are able to express so much of what I have felt through the years of knowing the Lord. I find it so difficult to share openly and honestly with the Lord my deepest thoughts. I know He already knows them but sometimes I think He isn't interested in what I think. I know that's not true but communicating is a a big weakness for me. I plan to read through each of your posts. This first one is really excellent. Thank you for doing this!
ReplyDelete