The path of the righteous is level; O upright One, You make the way of the righteous smooth. Yes, LORD, walking in the way of Your laws, we wait for You; Your name and renown are the desire of our hearts. My soul yearns for You in the night; in the morning my spirit longs for you. Isaiah 26:7-9
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. Psalm 23:4b
I do not believe in coincidence. I’ve experienced too much of Yaweh to accept the myth of coincidence any longer. From my short thirty-two years of walking with the LORD I have lost count of the tiny details that God puts into my daily life. Small things that only I would notice. Growing up my mom always said “God is a God of details” but it took me a very long time to understand what that means. It means God CARES about the details in our lives. He CARES about the little things that get us down. For the longest time I would only pray and seek God about big decisions, big problems, big victories. Then I got married and realized that every night I would ask my husband, “So, what did you do today?” And he would always reply “work”. It would drive me crazy! I wasn’t asking because I didn’t know the answer, I was asking because I cared, because I wanted to hear him tell me about his day. I was trying to start a conversation with him! God is our heavenly husband and He cares about how our day goes. He’s trying to start a conversation with us every day. So we can’t frustrate Him with answers like “work”. Join in the conversation with Him!
Then, I got pregnant! While I was pregnant I would think very carefully about what I was eating and drinking, or not eating and not drinking. I was more aware of the things I was listening to and the chemicals and fumes I spent time around. Why? Because there was a life growing inside me that was being affected by all of those things. And I now realize that again all of those things are true spiritually as well! Because I have believed in my heart I am justified and because I have proclaimed with my mouth that Jesus is my Lord[1], His Holy Spirit that was given up for me on the cross[2], is now living and growing inside me[3], filling my belly with streams of living water[4]. Everything I expose myself to physically has an effect on me spiritually, on my relationship with the living breathing Holy Spirit within me.
He has PROMISED to never leave me or forsake me[5], but that doesn’t mean that it’s not possible for me to turn my back on Him or forget to consider Him. While there is no condemnation for those in Christ, there are still consequences for our actions. While everything is permissible, not everything is beneficial[6]. Sure we’re free to eat what we want, watch what we want and do what we want when we want to… but we need to always keep in mind that He is always IN us, He is always there. Acts 2:24 tells us that it was IMPOSSIBLE for death to keep its hold on Christ. If we remain in Christ, then it is IMPOSSIBLE for death to keep its hold on any Child of Light! Hallelujah! Praise the LORD that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ[7]!
In John 15:5-6 Jesus tells us “I am the vine and 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. If anyone does not remain in Me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.” You see, there’s a difference between Him being in us and us being in Him. Just like there’s a difference between having water in our bodies and our bodies swimming down to touch the bottom of the deep end of a swimming pool. He has promised to never leave us, but have we promised to never leave Him?
God told me the other day that prayer has very little to do with our tongues or lips and everything to do with our hearts. He lives in your heart, waiting patiently for you to look for Him in your own heart. He’s waiting for you to communicate with Him in an intimate exchange of lives. Prayer is more powerful than any of us could ever think or imagine this side of heaven. So, go on a date tonight with your heavenly husband, down to the depths of your heart and soul. Be intimate with Him. Show Him the pieces of your heart you’ve been holding back. Those things you’ve been trying to hide, like an elephant in the middle of the room. How does that saying go? How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Tamar Knochel 