Encountering Grace
So here is a new one. Instead of irritable bowel syndrome, how about irritable Owl syndrome. We were awakened about 4:00 am one morning to the sound of our 100-pound shepherd/lab mix dog, Murphy, woofing. What I mean is, it wasn’t a full-on bark, it was his head propped up on his paws with just a slight wooffff, coming out his mouth. Very rhythmic too. We stood there looking at him lying on the couch, when we heard the owl, hoo hoo, then Murph would answer with a wooffff. Then, hoo hoo, again with a response of woofff, woofff. This went on for about 40 minutes. Funny now, irritating at 4:00 in the morning for 40 minutes.
Lately, my irritability factor has been a little high. I’m not sure why, and maybe you have found yourself in a similar situation. This aggravation is causing discontent too. I sound fun to be around, don’t I? I have a go-to passage in the Bible I re-read when I start feeling these emotions well up in me. It is Romans, Chapter 7 and 8. I cannot tell you how happy I am that Paul describes his thoughts in these verses like this; “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate, I do.” “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. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” I want to be Paul’s BFF.
What can we do at this point? Paul David Tripp describes it like this: “We have two responses to the brokenness that complicates all our lives; cursing or mourning.” It comes down to our irritability can cause us to curse the fact we are dealing with flawed people, suffering, disease, and the heaviness of our world. BUT, we can put a different filter on, as the Apostle Paul did, and realize our response should not be cursing, but mourning. Mourning puts us in a posture to receive what God has for us, His grace. Mourning also puts God in His rightful place. With our hearts positioned correctly, we can grieve what sin does to us, to the world. This position allows us not to be surprised at our fallen world. If we don’t realize the fallenness, then we curse, and won’t seek forgiveness, or rescue, or accept the grace God so graciously delivers.
I am so grateful for God’s Word that truly gives wisdom, direction, peace, and life. There was a time when I thought of reading the Bible to be intimidating on many levels. I was sure I needed a seminary degree to understand the Scriptures. But with some prayer, direction, and the Holy Spirit, I have learned how to spend time in God’s Word, and it is life-changing.
Our ministry, Choose to Soar, has such a passion to share with you how to encounter God through His Word, that we have set a weekend aside, September 16th-18th, 2022, to help you do just that; encounter Him! To learn to read for transformation, not information.
Registrations for all our Encounter Weekends will be coming available very soon. You can register for the weekend, Learn to Love the Word, or other Encounter weekends as well. For example, Live with Purpose, Lead with Passion, or our unique weekend; After it Breaks, learning to rebuild after loss.
And wait till you see the Inn in east Texas where we will be staying. Wow! A perfectly created space for personal growth and inspiration. Not to mention the Inn sits on 1000 acres of beauty.
Stay tuned, we have many more announcements coming. We are so excited about what God has shown us and His desire for us to use our passion and expertise to equip and empower you to be all He intended. Also, be watching for a Facebook live next Tuesday, the 29th. Next week’s blog will be about our Encounter Weekend– Live with Purpose, August 12-14, 2022.
Father, how grateful we are for your Word. Your Word is a lamp to our feet, giving us counsel, encouragement, and hope. Lord, give us all a great thirst for Your truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
