Interlude 2: God's Promise To Me

          A few weeks ago, as I passing through yet another valley, under heavy attack of doubt and discouragement in my struggle with sin, I sat down and wrote out the following:

3/6/2023:
          God called you.
        He reached out and laid His hand upon your heart. You were dead in your sin. You were lost. You had long ago rejected God, turned your back on Him, and was determined to live your life your way!
       There is no salvation except by God first reaching out and calling to you. It is God who initiates the whole process. You who are dead and lost in your sin cannot respond of your own free will. That what it means to be dead. God must first work in your heart, must first quicken you by his Spirit, and then you have the choice. Only then can you respond to His call. Only then can you exercise your free will to either accept or reject Him.
           God had reached out to you before, as a child. You thought you had received Him when you were seven years old. But your hard-hearted, stubborn rebellion in your teen years proved that the Holy Spirit was not dwelling within you. You rejected God multiple times of your own free will, and He finally went silent for a time. He allowed you to live in your sin, to go your own way. He gave you what you wanted: to be left alone to live your life your way!
         But then, in June of 2020, God reached out once more. This time, He laid one hand on your shoulder and the other on your heart. He called you once again. And, as before, you resisted. You fought. You argued. You struggled to get away from His hold on you, to ignore the new yearning, the new desire to seek Him. But, this time, God would not let go. He patiently, lovingly held on, pulling you towards Him, countering every argument from you with words from His own book. You started to remember verses you had memorized many, many years ago and long since forgotten. You fought a new desire – a  longing, even – to read the Bible again. But the more you resisted and fought, the stronger that yearning became.
           For three and a half months you wrestled with God. The harder you fought, the more persistent, it seemed, His call became. You finally gave in and downloaded a free Bible app on your iPad. You started reading in Genesis 1, and, as you arrived at the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph, more and more memories from Sunday School and church services began surging to your conscious mind. You once knew all these stories by heart long, long ago. Now, as you read them once more, a new hunger revealed itself. God’s call started to get even louder and more persistent. His pull on your heart increased tenfold.
            God chose you.
          The Holy Spirit worked on your heart that whole summer of 2020, convicting you of something you had known your whole life but had stubbornly refused to admit aloud: you were a sinner in need of a savior. That conviction became so strong and so consuming that you simply could not fight it any longer. This time, God was not taking ‘no’ for an answer. On September 17, 2020, as you drove home from work late at night, you poured out your broken heart to God and surrendered your free will to His. You’d been ignoring Him, running from Him, for all of your adult life. But God decided it was time for you to stop running, and He wasn’t letting go.
            God saved you.
          After surrender, after the absolute peace and joy took over, God started working. He started changing you within. He called you for a purpose. Even knowing all the times you would mess up, you would disobey, you would backslide into your old sin, give into temptation, wander away from His side, He still chose you!
          He has a plan for your life. But not just any plan. His is a specific, detailed plan! He’s got a particular mission just for you! It’s a mission only you, Neal Jones, can fulfill. But only if you willingly, willfully surrender to Him every day! He will do what is needed – both within you and in the world around you – to effect His plan and purpose! You can bank on it!
 
           Stay surrendered! Stay humble! Remain faithful! God will take care of the rest. (Philippians 2:13)
 
          Remember: you cannot thwart God’s plan for your life. You’re just not that powerful. If you messed up, if you fell down, confess. Ask for forgiveness. Plead the blood of Christ, and get back on the path. Jesus died for your sin: past, present AND future! Remember that, and meditate on that!
 
            God loves you.
          He called you by name. He has a will and a specific plan for your life. Trust Him, wait on Him, and walk in surrendered obedience every day!
           2 Timothy 3:16-17 – “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”
    The man of God:

1. Puts God first
2. Is humble
3. Is repentant (has a tender heart)
4. Is patient
5. Practices self control
6. Is focused, steadfast & faithful
7. Is diligent (not lazy or slothful)
8. Has a prayerful heart
9. Always seeks wisdom (is obedient)
10. Is a leader

 
       Repeat after me: “I will not give in to temptation and sin because I am a man after God’s own heart.”