I KNOW WHERE I WOULD BE!

I have heard it said, "I don't know where I would be without the LORD?"  That is not true of me!  I know where I would be and what I would be doing.  I know about the lifestyle I would choose apart from God.  It would steal away years that could have been used for His cause.  I have heard testimonies concerning this life and am grateful to the LORD for His guidance and protection.  In addition, there have been several times lately that the LORD has shown me that there is even more growing to do.  At least I am aboard His ship.  I am glad I know God, His Son Jesus, and His Holy Spirit. More importantly I am ecstatic He knows me better than I know myself.

One of Christianity's largest icons, a man you could see growing in the faith, penned these words to the believers in Rome -

"I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good.  As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.  I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do--this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:15-19)

This is familiar to me.  So, when I read these words of Paul I am glad that I was not the only one who experienced these tendencies. 

We have assurances that if Jesus is not Master and Savior of our lives then we know  where our eternity stands - damned.  And on that road to the manifestation of that damnation there are enticements and wasteful lifestyles that attempt to fill a void that will never be satisfied.  If anybody's life is plugged into anything other than Jesus Christ then that person cannot and will not produce anything of eternal value for his/her life or the lives around them.

"Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.  I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." - John 15:4-5

I am extremely glad God promised me that, after I accepted Him as my Master and Savior, He would never leave me nor forsake me (Hebrews 13:5).  David confirmed God's presence especially in the difficult times of life by saying God -  "is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble." (Psalm 46:1).  In addition, I thank my God for His patience to be the ultimate potter and shape me and mold me more into His likeness every day because I am a Believer who is always under construction and in need of constant modifications and updates.  There is a song, performed by Higher Ground (I think) whose lyrics express my sentiments perfectly - "I'm not what I want to be, I'm not what I'm gonna be, but thank God I'm not what I was."

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