When you shut out Jesus
A man who was far away from God, in his heart, prayed once: “Lord, how lost and arrogant I was! I lived my life without You. I never asked for Your advice nor did I ask for Your help, for I thought: ‘What could You do for me? Despite the fact that I went to You during the evenings in prayer, and attended Sunday morning mass, I let You just stand outside of all the important decisions in my life. I would only come to You during times of sorrow, though never did I wait for You to answer me. My God, I was wrong, so wrong. You woke me up by crushing my heart and spirit. Why, I do not understand, how could You do this to me my God?’ The man who lived far away from Jesus had such a big problem that it destroyed him.
We go to Jesus when we are overburdened with problems, when we can barely stand. How long were you suppose to walk with this burden before you decided to approach Jesus? Are you too proud to ask Him for help? We shut Him out from our lives and decide what areas He may come and take care of, but certainly not all areas! We establish rules for God out of pride. Do you really think that you handle these things better than God?
When something that absolutely can’t happen happens, then the great wall around our hearts collapses. It is a wall of pride, arrogance and egotism. Among the tears, the broken heart is crying out: Jesus help me! Where are You?!
The man had withdrawn and spent time in prayer, in tears he asked Jesus to forgive him. It began with bitter tears and ended up with Samuels verse “He sent from above, He took me; He drew me out of many waters!” (2 Sam 22:17).
He understood later what Jesus had done for him, the grace he had received. 'What I did not understand was that You did it to take care of me, so I would come back to You. I was the little lamb that the Shepherd was crying out for, but didn’t listen. The lamb that was on his way to the mountain’s cliff face and the Shepherd called him back, but still the lamb did not obey. The Shepherd ran at that time towards the lamb and broke the lamb’s bones in order to stop him from going towards the cliff face and falling. He did it to keep the little lamb close to Him. How wonderful; to lie in the Shepherd’s safe bosom.’
There are those who do not understand the Lord’s wisdom in allowing temptations and sorrow in this world. Some believe that the Lord allows for trials and tribulations as punishment for the evil man may commit. This is not so, as confirmed in the Scriptures. There is not a human being who has not experienced sorrows and afflictions, even the prophets, the apostles and righteous throughout all ages. In fact, it is impossible to walk in the path of righteousness without encountering trials. One should accept all sufferings and thank God for sending this blessing, and that He considered us worthy to bear sufferings for His name.
What a blessing it is to have Jesus as our refuge, to be carried by Him. Listen to Jesus’ voice which is calling you, His son, and His daughter. Don’t let it go so far that you hurt yourself, or until something tragic happens to you. Go to Jesus right now my friend and tell Him everything that happens to you. Don’t let Him stand outside in the cold, instead, invite Him into your heart. Tell Him about all your hopes, goals, problems and joy. Tell Him about your friends, family, what happened to you today, tell Him everything! Don’t make Him a stranger by setting boundaries and choosing which part of your life you wish to include Him and which part you don’t. Give all your heart to Him. He doesn’t just want a fraction of your heart. He wants your heart as He gave it you, whole.
The tribulations that we encounter from other people, demons or the flesh should strengthen and enable us to thank God. It’s when you go to your Father, Whom created you, that you get the answers to the questions: Who am I and where am I heading?
Source: Christian Behaviour According to The Pope Kyrollos The Sixth, by Pope Kyrollos VI Sons (2000), 1 Yalpoga St, Shopra, Cairo – Egypt.
Picture: www.allposters.com, search: saving grace
Written by: Zakia Hanouch
source: http://www.melthodhaye.com/default.asp?itemID=107
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