I don't know about you but I sure am in need of a fresh start! As my last post previously mentioned, I am in a healing process. Jesus has revealed to me many "security blankets" that I have held onto in my life (for a long time now) and is in the process of ripping them all out! It is quite painful. I guess they have been there since I was a little girl. I was the "Linus" of the family. I carried my blanket around loud and proud. It was my security blanket, my constant, my comfort, my companion in the midst of much chaos. I held onto it way too long and wore that thing to shreds. And I guess you could say that the process stuck with me. Like all of us with issues, my wounds of rejection, judgement, withheld love, being ignored, & replacement run deep. And un-beknowest to me, the effects of them have carried through in my life, in my relationships and in almost every avenue-thus drawing me to grab onto false securities. They come in all different shapes and sizes for me too. However, through my growing in Christ I have realized that they they were there but was un-aware of the full hold they had on me. I know Jesus and thought that I was holding onto Him tighter and was OK. I was wrong. A couple of nights ago I held my own "altar of incense" of burt offerings to Jesus. In layman's terms...I burned all that I could of my security blankets. In that ceremony laid a mix of emotions. And then yesterday, at the end of a year, I realized that it was time for me to let go of these things and move on. I hate moving on. It was something I was forced to do way too much when I was little. So I grabbed onto things that I thought would last. All the while I forgot that they were but hay and rubble to be burned up when the winds blew. Only the/my Rock lasts. So yesterday I decided to partake in one more burnt offering-only one that would leave a mark of rememberance. :) I got a tattoo! I have been wanting this tattoo for some time now but never had the design right or felt the right timing. But after much researching I realized yesterday was my day and I did it! YHWH'S with a shepherd's staff attached now mark my right arm and I love it! (Please don't give me your Biblical opinions on tattoos. I have researched it enough and felt free to do it so just worry about the plank in your own eye.) :) Anyways, it means that I am "the Lord's." I got it out of Isaiah. And the Shepherd's staff is symbolic b/c God has seemed to make the 23 Psalm my life verse in SO MANY WAYS. It will constantly remind me just Whose I am-Who defines me-Who is my Rock, my Shepherd, my Hiding Place, my Security, my I AM! Amen! I love it! :) One of my good friend's, Aimee, went with me and was chatting with me as I was getting it (so as to distract from the pain) and she had a great point. I was telling her how this past decade had been so hard. I have felt stuck in pain and un-able to move forward for a decade! I was ready for a new year and a new decade and how appropriate b/c it was 2010 (10!) That's when she pointed out, "God is all about numbers, Corrie. They are symbolic and important to Him." Yes, indeed they are! I forget what the number 10 "represents." If any one on here remembers, please do so enlighten me. Like i know the #7 signifies completion. Anyways, it's 2010, a new year, a new decade. And I pray that this decade is one of mere worship to my King-as my new devotional is themed upon! I am in need of newness. I am in need of letting go of some things and moving on. I don't know what God has in store for me or what "gifts," not "blankets" that He will bring my way. All I know is that I need to just hold on tight to Him alone! And now the tattoo artist knows that of me as well-ha. May it have been a witness! His word does not return void! :) Anyways, my theme verse now: Philippians 3:7-14! And I was also reminded yesterday that In the Beginning, in Genesis 1, when God created the world-He created it out of nothing. It was dark, devoid of life, chaotic and empty. He can do the same for my life! He is our resurrection! Here are some photos of my new tattoo. And also my New Years prayer for us all that I stole from my Proverbs 31 e-devotional. I will now fight the good fight, keep the faith, stand back up, dust off my knees, choose to praise Him, focus on Him and letting Him change ME, and see what He has in store. In God I trust...
A New Year's Prayer for You
1 Jan 2010
Wendy Blight
"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me." Matthew 28:18 (NIV)
New Year's Resolutions.
What comes to mind when you hear these three words?
Everywhere you turn the media bombards us with the latest and greatest New Year's Resolution ideas. Diet. Lose Weight. Exercise. Change your look. Change your life. A new year, a new you! Sounds great, doesn't it?
For many years, I made New Year's Resolutions, but I could never keep them. Oh, I succeeded for a few months, but then it was over. I felt worse about myself than I did before the year began because I had failed. So a few years ago, I quit making New Year's Resolutions. Instead, I wrote a prayer. Throughout the year, I watched in amazement as God worked in my life and in t he lives of others through my simple prayer.
Today, I would like to pray for you. As you read this prayer, I invite you to use it as a model for writing out your own New Year's prayer.
Father in heaven, thank You that You are All Authority in heaven and on earth. Thank You that You led each woman here today. You know her every need, her deepest desires, and her hurting places. Lord, as she seeks to know You more, would You open the eyes of her heart to see the wonderful things in Your law?
Father, we confess that so often we live lives that do not honor You. Our actions and our Words seem so far from You. But, we do want to live lives that please You, so we ask today for You to soften our hearts to receive what Your sweet Spirit has to speak to us. Give us a hunger and a thirst for Your Word. As You reveal it to us, help us through the power of Your Holy Spirit to listen and obey. You tell us Your Word is living and active, like a double-edged sword. Father, we invite You to use it now to penetrate the deepest recesses in our hearts.
Give us hearts that desire You and Your Truth above all else. Your Word tells us that if we lack Wisdom, we need only ask and You will give it liberally. So we ask today for a fresh filling of Your Wisdom. Give us the strength to walk in Your Truth, no matter the cost. Guard our hearts and keep our eyes fixed on You. Grow in us the fruit of Your Spirit…those things that will make us more like You. As we study Your Word, fill us and saturate us with more of You!!
Today, Father, we surrender our past and look to the future, thanking You that we are a new creation. No matter what we have done before today, we have Hope in You to take all things and use them for Your good and the good of Your Kingdom. Thank You that You are Faithful. Thank You that we can make our plans but You will direct our steps. We trust in You to do a mighty work in us through us this year and ca rry it on to completion until the day we step into eternity with You.
Lord, we love You. Make our lives a living testimony of Your Love. We ask this in
the powerful and mighty name of Your Son, Jesus Christ our Lord who will do immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine. AMEN.
Related Resources:
Hidden Joy in a Dark Corner: The Transforming Power of God's Story by Wendy Blight
The one-year Chronological Bible (NLT)
Visit Wendy's blog-Living Truth to find s teps to help you personalize your prayers
God answers prayers! Read Desperate Prayers, Divine Answers for more encouragement
Application Steps:
Personalize this prayer for you and your own life.
As you do, ask the Lord if there is an area of your life in which you consistently struggle.
If the Lord made you aware of a struggle, surrender that area today. Boldly ask God to speak Truth into this area, no matter the cost. Ask Him to teach you His way, give you a mind to understand, and a heart to obey. Hold fast to what you hear so that your walk in that area will be established and ordered according to His will, not your own.
Reflections:
Read Proverbs 4:20-27, then meditate and reflect on its meaning i n relation to what you have learned through this devotion.
Power Verses:
Hebrews 4:12 "For the Word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." (NIV)
2 Corinthians 5:17 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone and the new has come!" (NIV)
© 2009 by Wendy Blight. All rights reserved.
3 comments:
I've got a great word to go along with your new tattoo! I was riding with my friend Gracie to Galveston to play music, and she began to explain the significance of the Lord as our Shepherd. My first tattoo ever was a shepherd carrying a lamb in his arms, and I always just thought that it signified Jesus carrying me. But, I learned there was so much more. The very familiar passage in Psalms 23:1-6 has so much more weight than I ever imagined. First, the shepherds carried a staff. Now, there were two uses for the staff. One was to guide, and the other was to break. A shepherd depended on his sheep for economical purposes, and great attention had to be placed on each one. While herding, the shepherd would use the staff to guide the sheep. However, it was also used to fend away any predators that posed harm to the shepherd's sheep. What I learned though, was this: any time a sheep would stray, the shepherd would use the staff as a tool of correction. Maybe a gentle tap to get the sheep's attention at first, but definitely a corrective tap. If the sheep still did not listen, then force would come into play. "He lies me down in green pastures. . ." This verse sounds so beautiful, right? Wrong! When the sheep just didn't listen and continued to stray, the shepherd, knowing that his economy depended on his sheep, would use the staff with great force. The phrase "lie me down in green pastures" refers to the breaking of the sheep's leg so as to keep it from straying any further. Then, after the sheep had been laid down, the shepherd would pick it up, and carry it back to the rest of the herd. There are so many weighty messages packed into this Scripture. One is, I stray off alot! And, sometimes, God has to break me out of my stubbornness to realize who is in control and who is doing the guiding. It is so painful! After He lies me down, He picks me up and carries me back to His Church. Life is so full of straying away, being broken, and being carried back, but it is my Shepherd who comforts me and also corrects me when I stray off. Thank you Jesus that You are in control, and thank You for caring so much about me!
Love that word! Thanks for sharing and caring Tuck!
LOVE it!! And I love you Corrie and how transparent you are in all that the Lord is teaching you.
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