Less of Me, More of Him

Less of me and more of Him.....for so long I thought I knew what that meant.  I've seen a movement taking a place and I think that I have probably been guilty of saying 'The Lord is moving in a mighty way' right now.  Seriously?  Isn't every move the Lord makes a mighty one?  The simple truth is that He always moves and He is always at work.  Why is it that when we join Him in the 'movement' and the 'work' does it become mighty?  It's because we are self centered people.  Everything is about us, Lord forgive us. Even when we do not realize it, we make everything about us. I was saved several years ago in my early 20's .  When I felt the moment that I surrendered to the Lord, an overwhelming, crazy, emotional, passionate peace swallowed me up. I wanted everyone to know what had happened to me.   I became crazy involved in my church wanting to do everything I could to serve Him.  I said everything and I mean everything. You had a need, I was your girl.  It took the Lord a few years to teach me that I was not supposed to do everything.  I was only supposed to do what He called me to.  Nothing more, nothing less.  Believe it or not, that is a hard lesson to learn, especially for a people pleaser such as myself.  I am happy to say that I am now a recovering people pleaser.  I feel it safe to say that the Lord probably thought I'd never learn what it meant to follow Him and not people.  Crazily enough, when I thought I had learned all about priorities and following the Lord, He took that lesson even deeper and removed the veil completely from my eyes. 

It is so easy to get caught up in making church look like what we think it should.  Brandon said it very well in bible study this morning. When we were first saved, we had no idea what church was supposed to look like and what the people who went to church were supposed to do.  We didn't say 'oh the deacons are supposed to do that.'  We did not even know what a deacon was. When Brandon was in the hospital, we didn't murmur and complain or get our feelings hurt because someone did not come see us. For that matter, we didn't even mention it because we didn't know we were 'supposed' to.  We had not yet fallen into the traditional expectations of what we (people) have turned church into. Unfortunately, it can be more about us than about Jesus.  We can have pride in our church because we are growing or doing 'good" things.  We can have pride in our people because they are passionately serving or leading well.  Pride in everything and everyone more so than we have in our Savior.  Ouch. Ouch. Ouch.  I still hate to say that out loud but I have been guilty of it and I did not even know it until it hit me like a ton of bricks through some unpleasant circumstances this past year.  Through His word, He has given me eyes to see church differently and has shown me that I 'missed' it.  Praise You for your patience, Lord! So, He continues to drive that lesson home, lighting a fire in my heart and that of my husband to prepare to do something radical for Him.

The Lord is so good to sift us of the things unbecoming to Him.  Sifting is not pleasant. It does not feel good but it is so necessary.  (Churchy word to follow - prepare yourself) Sanctification is a process that takes a lifetime.  I am thankful for that sifting even when it stings.  It doesn't sting less and less either. It stings harder and harder because the Lord digs in deeper and deeper.  But, boy does it feel incredible when the junk is gone and you are a little closer to who He desires for us to be. 

I am more in love with the Lord than I have ever been.  My heart is His and my life is His to be used however He sees fit.  The funny thing is that, in my humanity, I thought I was already head over heels for the Lord willing to serve and be used however He called.  Who knew that it could go deeper still? God did. Guess what?  I have no doubt it can go deeper still!!  Oh my goodness.  That gives me chill bumps, beloved!

 I look back over the past couple of years and all that has happened...the good, the bad, and the really ugly and can see a purpose for it all.  It's as if He allowed it all in order to be lead me (us) to the wilderness where there was no where to turn but to Him and He said "Ok, NOW I can work with ya."

Jeremiah 33:3 Call to me and I will answer. I will tell you great and unsearchable things!