New Life

Sometimes when I read a verse in the Bible I can easily move on from it to the next one, usually that is the case if I am being honest. Sometimes however there is a verse for now, a verse for today, this is just such a verse for me.

Ephesians 4:30 (MSG)
30 Don’t grieve God. Don’t break his heart. His Holy Spirit, moving and breathing in you, is the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. Don’t take such a gift for granted.

I love this. His Holy Spirit moving and breathing in you, the most intimate part of your life, making you fit for himself. I never think of it that way; God preparing me for himself; moving and breathing within me creating me in His image.

There are so many times I try to hang on to little parts of me. I try to grab on to the parts that are comfortable or that make me feel good, the old parts, I go back to them, I pick them back up. You know, the ones God has already dealt with. Am I the only one who does that?

I look around my life and go back to the old stuff, I find myself going back to offense and unforgiveness after I have already dealt with it. I find myself going back because it is comfortable; sometimes it makes me feel justified to hold on to things where I feel I have been wronged. I like to think about them, to talk about them and plead my case to anyone who will listen.

All that this does is make me unfit for God. I cheapen what God has done in my life. No matter if I am justified in it or not, it grieves the heart of God. God the one who has never hurt me, who has never left me, who has never forgotten me, by holding on to the old life I am grieving the heart of God. Letting go is hard, forgiving is hard, moving on is hard, but it offers something to me, it offers life. Forgiveness offers more of God in me.

My morning has consisted of a good long run, coloring and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse with Lilah and folding the mounds of laundry. However in all my stuff, something else has made its way into my morning, repentance and forgiveness. It is the spirit of God moving on my heart calling on me to let go of the anger and hurt. To let go of the old life and move on into the new life, the life that He has to offer me.

In the midst of our busy day, don’t ignore the most intimate part of you, the Holy Spirit moving and breathing on your life. Don’t ignore the Holy Spirit drawing you into deeper relationship with Him.

God is so good to us that each day he beckons to us, he calls to us and picks us up where we have fallen. I love God so much today because he didn’t leave me where He found me. Each day He rescues me. I hope that this offers an encouragement to someone. God wants to pick you up today. He wants to make your life fit for himself. Let go of the old life, it is so, so worth it.