EXPAND TO READ: GALATIANS 4 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 9): Oh boy how I have struggled with this verse since coming to faith. I have come to know God many times since coming to faith and I have seen You in so many aspects of my life, yet for some reason I still give into temptation and the flesh. Please forgive me for my weakness, Father. Forgive me for not being fully committed and dependent on You at all times. Forgive me for often regressing in my faith due to my own selfish desires and weaknesses. Remind me in those moments that I want to regress, like You did this morning, that my life through You is far better than any life my flesh can produce. By myself I am weak, but with You I am stronger than anything this life may present to me. As long as I remember to allow You into my heart through all things and I lean on You in those moments of weakness, then together we can overcome any obstacles. Thank You, Father, for always having the best for me in mind, even if I am an immature and rebellious type that doesn’t always want to do things Your way.
PROMISE (verses 4-7): I know I have heard of, journaled, and spoken of this promise before but it still amazes me every time I read it. I guess You keep repeating this promise to me because I still struggle to this day to fully and truly accept it as my internal truth. The promise here is that we are adopted as Your son through our faith. You promise us that You have sent us the Spirit of Your Son into our hearts so that we are no longer slaves of this life or our past, rather we are a son of God and an heir through God. Thank You “Abba Father” for this amazing promise that I am still learning to grasp and embrace in my life. Continue to remind me that my identity is a child of God and not a child of this broken world. Continue to work in my heart to soften it enough to truly embrace this identity so that when I walk in this world, I walk with the confidence that I am a child of God and nothing this world may throw in my path will ever change that.
ATTITUDE (verses 6-7): Help me to truly embrace the attitude that Jesus puts into our heart with the words “Abba, Father.” Help me to put behind me my past misconceptions of a father, so that I can truly embrace You being my Father, my Abba. Remind me that You are not my Father in the way of earthly fathers, but of perfection; the way a father in this life is supposed to be towards us—loving, caring, joyful, occasional discipline when needed, gracious, wise, the perfect teacher. Help me to walk this life in a way that I truly embrace an attitude that You are my Abba and nothing this world may throw in my path can hinder that attitude and feeling.
COMMAND (verses 17-18): These two verses may not be a direct command to us, but maybe more so words of caution to adhere to. You tell us that there will be people enthusiastic about us and/or things for us, but not necessarily in a good way. You tell us that it’s okay to be enthusiastic about good, but to throw caution to the wind to ensure we are not being deceived by the enemy into becoming enthusiastic about things that are not good. You warn us that there will be people that want to isolate us from Your goodness, so that we are focused on them. Please help me to discern these moments, Father, so that I do not get caught up in isolation again. I have been there for quite some time and the last thing I want to do is go back to that isolation.
EXAMPLE (verses 28-31): The example You give us here is so very relevant, but also extremely eye-opening. You tell us that there are two sons born—one of the flesh and one of the Spirit. I feel that this is an example of our own internal battles and struggles. We are constantly in a battle inside ourselves as we are maturing in our faith trying to prevent our flesh-born self from persecuting the Spirit-born self. We are constantly reminded and persecuted by the flesh of our past in a way that attempts to keep us as slaves to the flesh. You remind us, however, that we are no longer slaves of our flesh, our past, our mistakes, our sin, or anything this life has thrown at us or will throw at us. We are born of the free woman according to the Spirit and are coheirs to His throne. We must build our relationship with You to maturity, so that we can “drive out the slave and her son” from within us in order to no longer be persecuted as slaves of our past, our mistakes, our doubt, our sin, and our weaknesses. Thank You so much for this amazing example and insight into the story of Abraham’s sons, Father. I never saw it like this before, but I am so grateful that I was ready to receive it in this way today.
*DAILY NOTE: You are really speaking loudly to me through the book of Galatians, Father. I guess You didn’t have me read this sooner because I wasn’t ready to receive it properly. Thank You so much for all the lessons, counsel, and conviction You’ve given me today. Thank You especially for the example You’ve given me about Abraham’s children. I never saw this story in this way, so I am grateful for what You have revealed to me today. Help me to be better at righteous discernment, so that I know when the son of the flesh is persecuting the son of the Spirit. Help me to be better at discerning when I must lean on You more to prevent the son of the flesh from enslaving me again. Continue Your works in me, Father, so that I may truly embrace both the son of the Spirit You have birthed me into, but also so that I may embrace living this life as Your son and You as my Abba, Father.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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