2/7/2017
II Corinthians 6:17-21
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”
As I sit here in a crowded Panera, watching the rain drizzle down outside, I become blatantly aware of my inner being. I feel as if the weather today largely represents my emotions the past couple weeks. Down. Dark. Damp. Dreary. Discomforting. This is not the Wyatt I know. This is not the Wyatt I want to be. But, nonetheless, this is the Wyatt I have been. It is no one’s fault but my own. I have allowed myself to wallow in my thoughts. I have limited myself to only negative thinking. I have tried to solve everyone else’s problems but my own. I have lost focused. I have become complacent. I have believed the lies that I have to stay here, that I have done this to myself, that I don’t deserve anything better because of the mistakes I've made. To be completely honest, I’ve ignored God’s leading. I've ignored his promises. I’ve ignored His Word. I’ve ignored what I know to be true. I’ve held onto my desires, rather than seeking His. Again, to no one’s fault but my own. Looking back at the past few weeks, one theme has been evident through it all. Forgiveness. God’s forgiveness. Our forgiveness. My forgiveness. Now I can forgive other people pretty well, that is usually not a problem for me. I’m not usually one to hold grudges or anything like that (I’m not saying I'm perfect in this area, I can still improve but in comparison. Let me go on). Where I struggle, though, is accepting and believing I am forgiven and am able to forgive myself. I’m my own biggest critic. I frustrate myself to no end. I try to do things on my own, in my own strength. Surprise, that doesn’t work. I can’t do this life on my own or in my own strength. Period. I need God. I need the Holy Spirit. In my devotions today, I was in II Corinthians. I reread a passage that we had discussed in depth at Bible the past couple weeks. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” I am a new creation! I’m not my past mistakes. I’m not the person I used to be. I’m none of that. I am a new creation in Christ! Oh, how glorious! “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.” To God be the glory. Silly, Wyatt, you can’t do any of this on your own, it is all from God! He reconciled, restored friendly relations between (thanks, Google), us to him through sending his son to die on the cross for us! He did that! He desired us that much to do that! He is not holding my sin against me! He sees his son in me and that is it! I do not have to dwell in those feelings like I have been. I can move on. I can learn from my mistakes and become better because of them. According to II Peter chapter 1, I have been given everything I need to live a godly life. I have been given these things from, guess who, God! Not myself. Also in II Peter, it says, “… he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.” Did you read that? Through these great and precious promises that he has given us, we can participate in divine nature because we have escaped the corruption in the world. We have this ability and it is one that I have been neglecting. I’ve allowed my desires to keep me trapped in the corruption. Each day is a battle between flesh and spirit. Each day is a choice to love God or love my flesh. Each day, with help from the Holy Spirit, I can choose to live and believe the great and precious promises of God, not the lies of this world. It is my challenge to me and to you, if you struggle with these same things, to live in the light that we are no longer slaves to sin, to live in the light that we are new creations in Christ. “The old has gone, the new is here!”
“You are more than the choices that you've made,
You are more than the sum of your past mistakes,
You are more than the problems you create,
You've been remade.”
- “You Are More” by Tenth Avenue North
