Early Monday morning I woke up from the strangest dream. You know how it is. Some dreams seem significant; others just seem bizarre and make you question your late night snack choices. This dream appeared to be in the latter category, but as I gradually came to full consciousness a message became quite clear. In my dream, I was trying to shampoo a little boy’s hair. I had the soap in his hair, but he kept resisting my efforts to rinse it out. I was also struggling to get the water to pour over his head. In that odd way of dreams, the water ended up going everywhere but where it was meant to. The harder I struggled, the bigger the mess I was creating became. As I pondered these things, it was clear the Lord had a lesson for me in this crazy scenario: I can’t change anyone. If I insist on trying, I will only make it harder for them to change. Funny thing about the timing on this revelation, I had been praying Sunday morning and asking the Lord to help me love my family with His love. Once again I was up against the truth that my love isn’t like His love at all. As I read over 1 Corinthians 13’s wonderful exposition of what God’s love is all about, I became convinced that this kind of love is impossible for me. If I choose to walk in my own strength, I will never demonstrate this kind of love. However, as I dug in a little deeper and headed over to Romans 6-8 to look at what Paul wrote about sin and my victory over it through Jesus’ death on the Cross, I found some hope. Eventually, I arrived at Romans 8:13-14:
“For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
This is really good news! It may not sound like it at first because putting to death the deeds of the body doesn’t sound like much fun, does it? You have to make sure you put your focus on Who is doing the heavy lifting – the Spirit of the Almighty God. The same power that raised Jesus is at work in us! I told you this is good news! So here’s the bottom line – as I sat there and tried to take this in, the Lord Jesus made it very simple for me. Here is what He said:
I love you and I will lead you by My Spirit in you. Do not be afraid. Simply take My hand and follow Me.
And He gave me the grace to do just that. Sunday was a great day because I had no agenda except to follow His lead. It was a really special day, and I hope, a taste of freedom and victory to come. I’m still absorbing these lessons and learning to walk in them every day.
In the meantime, part of God’s plan for me is to take some time off to spend with my husband and my children. This means I won’t be publishing a “Heart to Hear” for the next couple of weeks. Pray for us - it’s always exciting when a mom, dad, and six kids get in the car for an extended period of time!
Abba Father, please lead us by Your Spirit. Give us grace to see what You are doing and follow Your lead. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
