I was Blind, but now I see

Do you know that God hears you. That He knows you, even if you don’t know Him. There is nowhere you can go that He isn't. There is nowhere you've been that He hasn't been Himself. When Jesus walked the earth, He was despised and hated by men...men that should have known Him, known Who He was, men who should have been looking for Him. The prophets foretold the exact moment He would enter Jerusalem as King. But they wanted Messiah to save them from the world, from the Romans, not from themselves, not from their sin. They had the law, and then they had their laws and they delighted in performing those laws in the sight of men. And I think that is where we get God wrong today. We want Him to fix our problems or rescue us in times of trouble, but we do not want to admit we need Him to save us from OURSELVES. We don't want to admit that the mess we are in has to do with the life we have been leading...the sin in our lives that comes with consequences. And it is sin that separates us from God...and each other. 

I'm reading a book called Overcoming Spiritual Blindness by a Dr. Gill. It is well written. Here are some quotes that just punched me in the gut: 
Page 61 “...we are truly dependent on the working of the Holy Spirit to bring conviction to our hearts, showing us the true nature of our sin through the Word of God. Only as we choose to recognize and confess our sin can we have our spiritual eyes opened, so that through repentance of our sin we can be cleansed and set free.”

Page 62 ...”sin is the most powerful force that separates us from God. It is also a powerfully divisive force to separate us from each other.”

“Many of us, even as we progress toward full faith, may discover that we have been embittered through life situations in our dealings with other people. And, closely related to the sin of bitterness, lurks the sin of jealousy that causes us to feel that we deserve more and to desire what others have. The ups and downs of relationships can create stormy emotions, which are more often expressed through divisive accusation of others. We must recognize all of these motivations as sin.”

I know bitterness is something I do not want nor is it good for me and will hinder my walk, but I see now so clearly that it is a sin. And of course it is because it usually has to do with something I think I deserve that I am not getting or something I’m getting I don’t think I deserve...and that’s just pride in different clothes. The cure for sin, and in this case bitterness, is once again found at the cross of Calvary. At the foot of the cross, I look up and imagine my Savior: sinless, perfect, lovely Jesus, bloodied battered and bruised by MY SINS. With that point of view, how can I be bitter toward anyone or anything in my life. If there is strife in my life, it is because of me...because of some sin in my life that I allow to take root and bring division and separate me from the person I am bitter toward. Or maybe it is their sin that produced sin in me through bitterness about their sin. Sin breeds sin. The reason bitterness is sin, is because it is contrary to the heart of God. So is unrighteous anger, malice, hatred, jealousy, and any negative feeling I have toward another person. 

And that brings me to my next point. God does not HATE or feel negative toward ANYONE. He loves EVERYONE. If you do not know that, it is because you do not know Him through a relationship paved by grace. But know this, if we fail to love Him and to accept His sacrifice as payment for our sins, we are choosing to be separate from Him. And if you live the rest of your life running from this truth, you are choosing to spend eternity separated from Him and that would be a place where He is not. It would be Hell...and Hell feels a lot like we do when we are separated from Him here and are angry and bitter and clinging to our sins and hating ourselves for it but trying to hide it underneath a pile of stuff that makes us look like we have it together. We can spend our lives denying God, but it doesn’t make Him any less real. And He is not angry, nor does He hate us. He loves us as parents love their Children. And He is waiting for us to turn toward Him and receive His grace, mercy and love. God does not send anyone to hell. People choose hell when they fail to choose a relationship with God through His Son Jesus while they breathe here on Earth. 

After wrapping my brain around something as glorious as this, there is only one thing I can say: Praise God! God is so Good! I want to shout it from the rooftops and act like a crazy lady. I'm out of my mind right now with JOY that He would choose to speak such life into and through me. Praise His Name! 

Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Peter reiterates this when he says "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." (1 Peter 5:7) If you need peace today, no matter who you are, what you've done, where you've been; cry out to Jesus and let Him take you into His precious, wonderful arms and give you peace now and for all eternity.