God Stops

"Sometimes the God of the universe pauses in the midst of all His creation to touch the heart of one person. Today, He paused for you." Lysa TerKeurst

Over the last couple of weeks God has been "pausing" for me in such incredible ways...and I don't think it's so much something new that God is doing...I just haven't been recognizing His "God stops" in my life. God's been pausing, but I haven't been responding. I've been like Isaiah 6:9 describes, " 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.'" I've missed seeing God working in my life. I feel like the Lord is removing scales from the eyes of my heart and I'm actually seeing Him for the first time.

What has blinded my vision of Christ? There's been a variety of things that have cluttered my faith and obscured my view. Self-imposed restrictions and rules that have made trusting and seeing God difficult at best, impossible at worst. My own self-sufficiency...a try harder, do better mentality.

I asked Jesus in my life when I was 8 years old and I've been living in the freedom from the penalty of sin, but not in the liberty of the power over sin. My Pastor has described it as living like justified slaves after being declared righteous. My life has been filled with struggle, effort, doubt, but I can't experience Christ by trying harder. I can only know Him by trusting. All my attempts to surpress and cover the 'bad' in me...the things I want to change...on my own, I'm only restraining who I continue to be. God wants to fill me with Himself and give me His divine power. He is showing up all over my life and calling me not to more Biblical teaching or attending more Women's conferences or reading more books, but leaning on the truth I already know. Leaning on The Truth, The Life and The Way.

The Power available to me is more than enough for any and every situation I will ever face. God is stopping to show me His love. He's pausing to show me His power. He's communing with me and displaying His splendor. I'm in awe, yet at the same time I wonder...how have I missed this all my life? Where have I been? How come this truth is just reaching my heart now? Why wasn't I living in God's power and recognizing Him before? I've attended church all my life. Did the words become too familiar? Did I become complacent in my Christianity? Did pride keep me from seeking Him? Did fear silence His voice?

There's a commercial I've seen on television where a young man is sitting in a restaurant and a waitress walks by with a tray of beverages. Upon seeing the drinks on the tray, the gentleman slaps his head with the palm of his hand and says, "OH, I could have had a V8!" It's like the light just came on. The thought had never occured to him before. I feel like that right now. I'm wondering how I could have grown up in the church and missed the power of the cross all these years. I'm hitting my forehead and saying, "I could have been living in the power that Christ died and made available to me".

So thankful God paused today to speak this truth into my heart.