"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."
~I Corinthians 15:10
Today's Devotional Thought February 07, 2013 by Rachel Piferi
Need a Messiah
I have a few playlists on my iPod that I turn to regularly depending on the mood that I am in. I have a "Praise & Worship" playlist that is full of songs that you turn up loud, raise your hands, and sing like no one can hear you as you drive down the road! I have a playlist titled "Press On" which is full of songs of encouragement when I need that prodding to keep fighting the good fight. I have a playlist of 80s music when I want to feel like a high schooler again. I have a playlist of theater songs. And it goes on and on.
Every now and then I like to go into my full list of songs and just play whatever randomly comes up. I love when I do that because every now and then an old song comes up and just hits me fresh.
That happened yesterday when Natalie Grant's "Back at My Heart" came on as I was driving. I don't know if you have ever heard it {if you haven't, I have posted it below}, but it starts with the lyrics: Strong on the outside but coming apart at the seams. That's me....
Need I go any farther?
As I pondered the lyrics, I thought to myself, Is this just me or does every woman {and man for that matter} feel like this on some days?
I will be honest. I am super human. And I don't mean like an extraordinary human. I mean I am as human as they get. I don't want to be human, mind you. I want to perfectly follow God's Word and walk in complete trust and obedience every day of my life.
But, I just don't.
There are days where I feel like I just won't ever get my act together. The same ole fears emerge. The same ole shortcomings. The same ole sins and selfishness rear their ugly head. And I sit there thinking that I am just coming apart at the seams as my flesh and spirit just battle it out.
Ever been there?
It is times like these that I just relish the words of Paul in Romans 7:
21 So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22 For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23 but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. 24 What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? 25 Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!
You see, we all struggle. We all fail. We all sin. We all get disappointed in ourselves. We all feel like we are coming apart at the seams sometimes and will never get it together.
And as awful as that feels, it has become such a vivid reminder to me of my need for a Savior.
By myself, I am a mess. I am broken. I am sinful. I am selfish. I am weak. But because of Jesus Christ and his strength, my humanness can be overcome each day. Each day that I admit to him I can't do this alone, he does it through me. And one day, I will live in victory with him eternally.
What a gift.
The next time you feel like you are just a mess. Realize that it is just a beautiful reminder of your need of a Messiah. And I don't know about you, but I am brought to tears by the fact that he would save me. With all of my inadequacies, failures, shortcomings, and sins, he has.
And not only has he saved me, he wants to use me to tell others about him. And he wants to use you too. Mess and all!
If you feel like you're coming apart at the seams today, don't fret dear friends. We all are. Let your humanness be a glorious reminder of God's love and deliverance. And don't pretend you have it all together. None of us do.
It truly is only by the grace of God that I am what I am... (I Corinthians 15:10).
Memorize this verse today:
"But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them - yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."
~I Corinthians 15:10
December