300 M.P.H Torrential Outpour Blues

I'm bringing back ghosts
That are no longer there
I'm gettin' hard on myself
Sittin' in my easy chair
Well, there's three people in the mirror
And I'm wonderin' which one of them I should choose
Well, I can't keep from laughin'
Spittin' out these 300 mile per hour outpour blues

Jack White

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. Psalm 23:2-3a

The good news of the Gospel is that by His death and resurrection, the Lord Jesus Christ, has secured salvation, redemption, adoption, and sanctification for His people. Jesus says in the Gospel of John, "I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture....I came that they may have life and have it abundantly."1 I believe this. I know this. Yet in my mind, there is a war waging. The crucified flesh, the old man, rises up and causes unrest in my soul.

Often times we misunderstand what it means to walk with the Lord. We go to church, we read our bibles, we pray before each meal, but we live defeated lives, waiting for the Lord to come and rescue us. Waiting for the Lord to "show up" while we drown in a puddle. This is not the life intended for us. Surely, the battle with sin, though it be dethroned, is still a hard battle. The trials of life can be tedious and knock us off the path intended, but we must always remember two things. The Lord has secured the victory and the Lord is present with us. It is in this victory that we can approach the throne of God with confidence that our prayers will be heard and our needs met and it is with this confidence that we can assert that not only is the Lord presently with us, but carrying our burdens. It is a hard thing to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, but this walk we must do if we expect to reap the benefits of being one of God's children.

The Apostle Paul wrote to the Phillipian church, giving them this command based on an eternal promise. "Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."2 The command is to work out our salvation. To seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, to be holy and blameless, to walk in a manner worthy and so on and so forth. The promise is that God will work in us, to will us to seek Him and to work through us, producing much fruit, quieting our souls, and destroying indwelling sin, conforming us to His image.

So let us not fret. Let us not be overcome by our defeated flesh. Let us KNOW and LIVE like the sons and daughters of God. If you feel stuck in a rut, do not wait for a miracle. Do not wait for the thrill or the "God goosebumps" or any other emotional experience to shake you out of your doldrums. Do not be like one of five thousand fed by five loaves and two fish, and yet still demand a sign or a miracle. Live in the reality that Christ is present, working in you, for his own good pleasure. He will make us lie down in green pastures and restore our souls. He is with us and working in us. Let that be all we will ever need.