This has brought me to point in life where I see other areas that I need to focus on, while including "to count it all joy" in the next journey. God has brought two avenues for growth into my life over the past month. One was the Made to Crave: Satisfying Your Deepest Desire with God, Not Food book by Lysa TerKeurst and the other avenue has been The Lord's Table: Setting Captives Free website that my friend Bonnie shared with me a long while ago but I had only bookmarked it...I just wasn't ready for that commitment at that point. But God, knowing what I need most, kept on me. He kept putting the following verse in my heart:
For ye are bought with a price:
therefore glorify God in your body,
and in your spirit, which are God's.
1 Corinthians 6:20
It was convicting. I knew I needed to work at making my body what God wants it to be and relinquish my selfish pride to that same desire...but I wasn't ready to make that commitment. I was frustrated. I was struggling. I needed hope and the whole time hope was right there before me. My body ached physically, and I know what it will take to lessen that physical pain. God wasn't going to force me to choose Him....but He does have a way of using things, like pain, to get our attention. He was preparing my heart to be more like Him. It still took a while for me to give up my stubborn pride. Then in sharing with Bonnie, who I knew was praying for me to wake up and see the truth, she shared with me this verse:
I will behold thy face in righteousness:
I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
Psalm 17:15
She couldn't see the tears of release that fell from my face at that moment...we were chatting via instant message. Those were the words I needed to read to break my stubborn will. The promise of being satisfied was reaching out to me. I knew I was ready. I began the study, The Lord's Table: Setting Captives Free. Each day of the 60 day study brings me more excitement and encouragement to grow in grace. Today, as a matter of fact, I read the following verse in my study:
Lord, Change my heart from deep within,
Your words were found, and I ate them,
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
and your words became to me a joy
and the delight of my heart,
for I am called by your name,
O Lord, God of hosts.
Jeremiah 15:16
Oh my! Think about that, my friends! Instead of turning to food for pleasure, think of the joy we have by turning to the Words of God for us! A joy AND a delight of our hearts! And not only that, we are called by His name! I do not every recall focusing much on that verse, ever. I am sure I have read it at some point because I have read through the Bible completely but today as this verse was shared in the Bible study, it brought such excitement to my heart. I want to be that person who is in this verse.
I want to leave this blog post with one more Scripture verse. It sums up my desire in this journey.
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips;
I have treasured the words of his mouth
I have treasured the words of his mouth
more than my portion of food.
Job 23:12
More and More Like You
Oh purify me once again.
Renew my mind to love your truth;
Make me more and more like You.
More and more like You,
More and more like You;
Do whatever you must do
To make me more and more like You.
Lord, cause my will to choose Your ways
In each temptation that I face,
Until your glory's shining through;
Make me more and more like You.
More and more like You,
More and more like You;
Do whatever you must do
To make me more and more like You.
Lord, now I rest in Your great love;
Secure in Your own righteousness,
Because You Spirits work of grace,
Makes me more and more like you.
More and more like You,
More and more like You;
Do whatever you must do
To make me more and more like You.
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