John 8:31-32 says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
I dare you… live in God today. Dwell in Him. Go where He asks. Listen for His whisper. Obey. Ask Him for things. Big or small. Do not doubt. Do not whine. Do not bicker. Be stable, steadfast, fully pleasing to Him.
Oh that we might break free from the confined religious box in which we all willfully lock ourselves in. There is much freedom to behold if we would only choose to seek Him and know Him (truly).
Let’s just think about that for a moment… the sheer blessing and wonder of seeking GOD. knowing GOD. He is so much more than this facade we have all fallen into that He can only be found and enjoyed if we have ‘good coffee’ or ‘a nice aura of warm light in the early morning before the eyelids of the dawn peer open’…(or maybe that’s just me). Comfortable music and comfortable people, easy living and a tight grip on “our belongings” and “our plans” (that really aren’t ours anyway…) are a treacherous path toward “freedom" that will plunge us down into a stagnant pit like Smeagol trying to salvage his ‘precious ring’ as he falls into the river of lava on Mordor. Our comforts, feelings, habits, ways of religion, etc have a tendency to become our gods rather than Jesus Christ. He is forever gracious to us, however and He knows that we are dust… falling into the adoration of the blessing, the temporary, the tangible, the feeling, rather than the Blesser, the Everlasting One, the Invisible God, the Truth.
We have the inexpressible gift of dwelling and hiding in Jesus every moment of everyday. The Pearl of great price. The One who came to this exact earth that we are miraculously dwelling on right in this moment. The One who created this miraculous planet and galaxy that we find ourselves on. The One who upholds all things by the word of His power. The One who is perfect in all His ways and is Himself the essence of purity, righteousness, goodness, justice, meekness, humility, love, holiness and infinitely more. The One who has been here before the beginning of time. The One who invented and crafted each of our fingerprints. The One who paints the skies. The One who has illogically placed Himself within those who receive Him as LORD to indwell and be found in Him for eternity. The One who was rejected by His own family for a three decades. The One who was rejected by those He came to show His relentless love and compassion for, (and is still experiencing that rejection currently). The One who disciplines, refines, and prunes those who are His (in love). The One who did immensely more than any one of us could ever try and dream up that we won’t be able to fit in our foggy, finite brains until we are face to face with Jesus (which will happen in probably a few decades, mind you). The One who breathes life into the lifeless. The One who left the tomb, (grinning the most beautiful grin the world could ever fathom, I presume). The One who is coming back to make right was has been made wrong. The One who gives purpose to my moments… who counted me worth it to love… who counted you, dear reader, worthy to love (so much so that He drank the wrath of the Living God for us). I could go on and on and on.
May we never lose our wonder.
Once again, John 8:31-32 says, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Emphasis on “KNOW,” for in knowing, we are beholding, possessing knowledge in “personal experience.“ Do we truly “know” (ginōskō)
or do we just merely feel? While feeling is not all bad, fickle feeling leads us into doubt and doubt hinders us from faith and stability in the Truth.
James 1:5-8, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.”
Perhaps this is the reason for our inconsistency and doubt? Could this be the reason for our lack of experiencing Him for ourselves and falling into laziness and disregard for the pursuit after Him due to the easy ride on the passions, spiritual experiences, visions, and dreams of others? It reminds me of Marlin riding the EAC in “Finding Nemo,” ”Just hop on the ride and you won’t have to exert any energy or force… just ride the waves bro!!!” Mindless meandering. (Of which I have certainly fallen as prey).
But isn’t He worth the pursuit? Isn’t He worth studying, memorizing, treasuring, relentlessly chasing, listening to, talking to, waking up early for, fasting for, etc etc etc. Isn’t He worth KNOWING?
He is. He is worth it all. He is worth having faith in. He is worth believing in. He is worth abiding in, dwelling in, living in, and living for. We are at home with Him anywhere. If we choose to dwell in the shelter of the Most High, we will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. If we choose to dwell in the shelter of circumstances, people and feeling, we will abide in the shadow of doubt, instability, conflicting passions, misguided desires, anxiety, envy, purposelessness, (and much else).
I dare you…once again to remain, abide, dwell in YAHWEH. The unshakable One. Pitch your tent… anchor yourself in Him. Be not like a doubter who is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. Ask the generous One to give you wisdom. He is a good Father, Friend, Beloved.
Let me remind our souls yet again, that He actually is who He says He is. He can do all that He says He can do. You are who He says you are. He sees you. He knows you. May we not rob ourselves of knowing the Truth and beholding the freedom that is Jesus.
PS: We can do nothing without Him anyway… so we mustn’t forget that. Jesus says in John 15:5, “I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
(Hence the importance of abiding, dwelling, KNOWing). It’s all a gloriously intricate and wonderfully simple all at the same time.
“I AM THAT I AM”