Who are you when no one is around? What captures your thoughts? What holds your attention? These are important questions to pay attention to when it comes to walking by faith. Your journey with God resides in the dark place within your soul and heart. Each of us tends to ignore this sacred place for it’s dark and rather scary for it has been impaired by sin. Yet, when Jesus is allowed to enter this space, it becomes holy and alive.
Jesus helps you to embrace the dark, the unknown parts that are even foreign to yourself, and leads you into the most wonderful friendship ever established by God. He takes you on a journey like no other, one in which He reveals His tender love while helping you to face your flaws that are not made for Kingdom living.
2 Timothy 2:21 ESV – “Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
1 Corinthians 6:11 ESV – “But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.”
God works within every heart that has received His Son. It is called His sanctification process. His process is very personal and it’s fine-tuned just for you. No other faith walk is like yours. To become a child of God, every person must come to the same place, have the same heart attitude, and be willing to be changed by the presence of Christ. Every heart must repent of their sins, the ones they are aware of along with the ones that they don’t realize yet.
Once this initial transaction has occurred, Jesus enters into one’s soul and heart via the Holy Spirit and begins the most wonderful work ever. How the Holy Spirit leads from this moment on looks different person to person. His work is personal, private and performed in the dark. It is your job to embrace the dark and cooperate with the Trinity as they transform you into their likeness.
2 Corinthians 3:18 NLT – “So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord, who is the Spirit, makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.”
The more you walk in this fashion with Christ, the more comfortable you become in letting Him into your heart and soul. He teaches you how trustworthy He is and how understanding He is. Nothing you have done or currently do (or won’t do) will surprise Him or turn Him away. NOTHING.
Your loving Savior can handle all that is wrong with you because of sin. Your patient Lord will lead you by the hand as He helps you to let go of you and embrace Him. Your eternal Father will fill you with Himself and help you to become comfortable with His way of living life. Eventually, you will embrace the dark with open arms for you know God has your best interest at hand.
You realize that God is good and He is all you need.
The things in life that grabbed your attention become discarded old lovers that don’t have any meaning anymore. They lose their luster in sight of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As you venture into 2024, embrace the dark and allow God to transform you into a vessel that will change your world for eternity.
Carol J German 