Moving Forward with Him

Cuppies and Jo with one of my best friends - thanks for coming to OKC :-)

"conversation...friendship...Jesus Christ"

My friend came to visit. And the Lord blessed our conversation with many laughs, encouragement, joy, and a reality of peace that we (as the Bride of Christ) move forward with Him and follow Him. The following thoughts are in regards to a few things we chatted about and of a conviction in my heart to change my perspective in areas of my life. 
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Do you ever wonder why God places certain "things" in our lives - and why certain "things" seem to take weeks/months/years to ever be answered? And as one waits for answers, you find yourself contemplating every scenario (past/present/future), every question, every motive...literally dissecting the "thing" until it's no longer what it was originally? The last question gives me this image of a hamster continually running on that little wheel that continually goes...but never really gets anywhere...

Hm. 

Perhaps there are no perfect answers to these questions. But, perhaps there are no perfect answers because we are on the wrong wheel to answer the questions. The wrong wheel of allowing the unanswered parts of life to dictate our being rather than that which is easily answerable. God Himself.

*I'm not sure if I'm making any sense here - I have this "thought" stuck in my head...like pink bubble gum that gets stuck to your shoes and you begin walking with the constant sound of squishing bubble gum. So you have to stop and remove it to keep walking. That's what I'm doing - typing to get this gum unstuck!*

Over the past few days, I have been convicted by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit to acknowledge that I have set up several earthly goals. gods. idols. Goals that focus on my personal selfish desires and goals that have made me "run" after them on a wheel that goes no where. A flesh wheel! 

My Great God has humbled me the past few days under His loving hand to change my mindset of what kind of perspective I have on my present circumstances. In many ways, I have made the unanswered questions to be my focus. The Lord toppled the wheel over that I was running on and caused me to fall on my feet...staring at this verse: 

       "My whole being follows hard after You and clings closely to You; Your right hand upholds me."

 Psalm 63:8

Does every part of my being (my soul, my mind, my thoughts, my heart, my passions) follow HARD AFTER my God? The Word of God is powerful and it has brought me face-to-face with the reality that my heart is His and His alone. Only He can truly be clung to and only He truly upholds me by His hand. After knowing this, how can I go back on that "flesh-wheel" and surround myself with the skewed perspective of the world? "Set your minds and keep them set on what is above (the higher and heavenly things), not on things that are on the earth. For [as this world is concerned] you have died, and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God." Colossians 3:2-3

Friends - may we desire a heavenly perspective on how He sees things. May He topple over our "flesh-wheel" and cause us to realize that we are to follow hard AFTER Him! By looking to Him (and also those we see in Scripture who looked not for an earthly life but one with Him), "let us strip off and throw aside every encumbrance (unnecessary weight) and that sin which so readily clings to and entangles us, and let us run with patient endurance and steady and active persistence the appointed course of the race that is set before us. Looking unto Jesus..." Hebrews 12:1-2a

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Move forward with God, my friend...let Him be the One that you run after. Throw off the persistent wheel of trying to run after answering all of the unanswerable twists and turns of life. God Himself is our answer. Run after Him. Run after Him with an unadulterated heart...may we come to say "my whole being follows hard after You..."

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