Romans 3:26-28 (TPT) And when the season of tolerance came to an end, there was only one possible way for God to give away his righteousness and still be true to both his justice and his mercy – to offer up his own Son. So now, because we stand on the faithfulness of Jesus, God declares us righteous in his eyes! Where, then, is there room for boasting? Do our works bring God’s acceptance? Not at all! It was not our works of keeping the law but our faith in his finished work that makes us right with God. So our conclusion is this: God’s wonderful declaration that we are righteous in his eyes can only come when we put our faith in Christ, and not in keeping the law.
Beth (B) – I’ve been feeling the tension of what you say about me, calling me righteous, and what I “know”.
God (G) – There’s a gentle breeze shifting things. Watch and see. It is not hurried. It is not suddenly but it is mighty. Watch and see. The start, yes, it is thorough, complete. There is no remnant of mess, dust and debris is cleared. It is steady. It is thorough.
B – Financial? I think, is it Lord?
G – Yes, it is debris, clutter, remnants removed, and it is steady. Like a steady rain, full of nourishment, replenishing, cleaning, reordering. It is thorough. It is enough, more than enough. Do not doubt. Do not be swayed. Keep seeing what I see.
B – Yes, Lord.
G – There’s a backpack you need to leave with me. It has your sleeping pad, your water canteen, your dried food, your extra socks, your matches wrapped for water protection, all these things for your care, I will do for you. Let them go.
B – Yes Lord. What is in the pack? I sense the baby promise I still carry as I read Romans about Abraham and Sarah and the thought flits in – still? Could it? Would it? Would I even want it now? How Lord? How do I let it go your way without giving up (that is my effort), without losing faith (that sounds like performance, striving), without defeat (that sounds like me thinking I know what victory is)? So, Lord, I give you all my self effort, independence, definition of faith, victory, defeat, giving up and say, your truth wash over me – that slow steady rain of truth that only you can do Lord to show me for reals, the truth. The truth about faith. Faith like a child. Believing Lord, help me in my unbelief. Believing all you say is true, about you, about me, about us together, about your way and your plan and your everything good.
Hopscotch? (I sketched the squares 3 singles then two boxes, another single and two more boxes. Picturing single boxes I/Me and two boxes Us.)
I – I – Me – Me – versus no more I – I – Me – Me
All I want is us – together. Your way – I only want you.
More than ever, I feel your serene peace, and yet I can get flippy about things. It does still get me in my head. I release to you all the control I falsely hang on to and say I choose you in control and me resting and whatever happens, wherever we go, whatever you do, I know it will be a million, billion, jillion times better than my way. I choose stable vs. rickety. I want solid ground vs. shifting sand. I want your way not mine. Carving it up?
G – Stretching, leading, guiding, loving. That is my way.
B – Yes Lord. I want your way. I want your way. I wonder what you see (thinking on specific circumstance and heart’s desire). How does it all look to you Lord? My wanting to know. I choose to believe you know all, you know best, and best is your heart for us. Lord, please help us to steward this time well, to lean in, to depend on you and not be swayed or led by man. To admit again that your way is best. Show us. That’s it, your best, and the strength and wisdom to walk it out Lord. Show us your way Lord.
Romans 8:4 (TPT) So now every righteous requirement of the law can be fulfilled through the Anointed One living his life in us. And we are free to live, not according to our flesh, but by the dynamic power of the Holy Spirit.
The barb of hearing “righteous” “pure” and the lie that this is by me. I hear and read it and there is a hidden shame, a lie that wedged and it is like I know better than God. That He says truth, but I know something He doesn’t. I laugh when I write that. God knows ALL. Nothing is hidden, so then if He says and He only says truth, now I get to choose to believe and walk it, choosing the truth over the lie. And that is the place, lodging in His truth and not camping in the putrid lie. The analogy of the letting go, this is exactly that, giving up the things I need to camp when He invites me to nestle in the luxurious truth. And I won’t be found out. I AM already knows. ALL. I get to take the flesh, lie, to the truth and let God do what he does.
G – Be still and know I AM.
B – I believe Lord, help me in my unbelief. The analogy Lord, what?
G – There’s a mystical smoke that envelops and chokes and isn’t for your good. It is the lie of never enough. It is the ache of forgotten and unimportant. It is a lie. I value you and I Am. You are important to me, more than you believe, more than you know. I AM thrilled with who you are and your choices. You are more than enough for all that I have in store.
I can do more than you think
I can do it better than you believe
I can surprise you again
I can shake and rock and shift suddenly for your benefit
Watch and see
Breathe and relax
Line up with me
Listen, look, watch, listen, look, watch
Let’s do this thing
I am for you and so excited
B – Yes Lord.
G – The ripping, shredding, tearing only happens when there is a pull away. Instead, just settle in with me and rest and be still and it is done. The perspective, the appreciation, the wisdom, the places I give you to speak truth, the people I give you to bring light. You are free. You are completely free and walking with me. It is beyond, beyond all you can think and believe, and I am renewing, redeeming, refreshing, restarting, restoring all the stuck and muck to the way I see it.
B – Yes Lord, Thank you.
And the very next day, surprised and ravished (fill someone with intense delight) by His love.
Romans 8:27-28 (TPT) God, the searcher of the heart, knows fully our longings, yet he also understands the desires of the Spirit, because the Holy Spirit passionately pleads before God for us, his holy ones, in perfect harmony with God’s plan and our destiny. So we are convinced that every detail of our lives is continually woven together to fit into God’s perfect plan of bringing good into our lives, for we are his lovers who have been called to fulfill his designed purpose.
Psalm 33:20-22 (TPT) The Lord alone is our radiant hope and we trust in him with all our hearts. His wrap-around presence will strengthen us. As we trust, we rejoice with an uncontained joy flowing from Yahweh! Let your love and steadfast kindness overshadow us continually, for we trust and we wait upon you!
Joshua 24:15b …But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
Romans 9:30-33 (TPT)
So then, what does all this mean? Here’s the irony: The non-Jewish people, who weren’t even pursuing righteousness, were the ones who seized it – a perfect righteousness that is transferred by faith.
Yet Israel, even though pursuing a legal righteousness, did not attain to it.
And why was that? Because they did not pursue the path of faith but insisted on pursuing righteousness by works, as if it could be seized another way. They were offended by the means of obtaining it and stumbled over the stumbling stone, just as it is written:
“Be careful! I am setting in Zion a stone that will cause people to stumble,
a rock of offense that will make them fall, but believers in him will not
experience shame.”
Excerpt from An Encourager’s Heart