October #jammed: Free Grace.

Day 276: Wash it out.

“For in him we live and move and exist.” Acts 17:28

The hesitation I wrestle with some mornings is whether or not I have time to breeze up and down the pier for a brisk walk before my house explodes into chaos. Most mornings I take the plunge, knowing the that those fleeting minutes with God and His sunrise out over the water will uphold the edge of my sanity. But some days, I get caught up changing the laundry loads, emptying the dishwasher, or barreling into the days’ work. I loose my opportunity to go.

Today’s verse explains our pull towards Him in that way. “We live and move and exist…” That’s an all-consuming explanation of our humanity. The natural and overwhelming urge to be in the presence of God is what we are innately after.

In the Old Testament and in this instance, move (nāsa) means “to pull out tent pegs.” It’s where the sense of “to set out” or “journey” is derived. It was a word that God’s people used on their journey out of Egypt, to describe their movement in tune with Him by following the Pillar of Cloud. They would pull up the tents, follow the cloud, and then set them back up wherever it stopped.

Eventually, they discovered that when they followed God, a journey awaited. It’s not surprising at all that the word’s eventual meaning, “to pull out tent pegs,” grew into what it means to “journey.”

In the New Testament, move (the Greek Word kineō) means “to move, stir, arouse.” -Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary. There’s no longer a Pillar of Cloud to follow, but a person. Not just any person, but God’s Son, Jesus. He came here to show us how to live, how to follow, and how to accept the grace that He died to give us. Now, that stirring movement comes from a life walked out with Christ. When we believe in Jesus, the very Spirit of God stirs in us. It’s always worth it to follow the inclinations of the Spirit, our navigation system. Journey most assuredly awaits.

“When you want to tap-out, wrestle with your doubts.” Pastor Todd

The mornings that I don’t “feel” like squeezing in a walk with God …the days where I’m “too busy” to take time to sit in His presence …He stirs. I’m reminded of what will happen if I don’t go. I’ll be restless and on edge, miscalculated and uncalibrated …I will barrel through the day.

So I wrestle when I’m stirred. And I go. 

Father, Praise You for stirring our souls with Your Spirit! Thank You for Your faithfulness in our lives! Forgive us for walking the other way, and for days when we just simply don’t even try to listen to You. It happens, and we confess every day we’ve gone astray from Your love and guidance. Bless our hearts to soften to Your Word and the Spirit’s nudge …following You even when we don’t “feel” like it. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 Get the conversation started by commenting below, and let’s encourage one another as we face life in 2017 armed with grace! 

#greatgrace17

Happy Wrestling,

Megs

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