Finding yourself in the frequency of sin can hold you back in many aspects of your life. So what are you waiting for? Isn't it time to face the music?
“Then Jesus declared, “I, the one speaking to you—I am he.” John 4:26 NIV
Reflection
Finding yourself in the frequency of sin can hold you back in many aspects of your life. Have you ever thought of it this way? Sin pulls you away from a life that unites you with God. So what are we waiting for?
In The bible verse from John, we have Jesus declaring who He is and to not just anyone but a woman, a Samaritan, who has had five husbands and is living with a boyfriend. Hold on a second here. God, our God, decides to go public with this particular person, but why?
I love that Jesus brought it out to a woman as the first person He told. It also just happens that a woman is the first person to witness the risen Lord—excellent symmetry in that.
This woman, who was indeed living with sin, has just had a direct encounter with the Messiah she had heard about. She was alone as a result of her sin. She did have five husbands and was with another man, but she probably wasn't fulfilled. She was searching for something or someone to accept her for who she was and see who she could be. In steps, Jesus and her life is transformed almost instantly.
In the account of this in The Chosen, it is a woman who is so overjoyed and willing to testify with her life fully on display that you can feel the zeal of a person fully embracing Jesus. She is free from the shame, guilt, and loss of hope. She is overjoyed. Is that how you feel when you think of Jesus?
We can genuinely overlook how incredible it is to know who Jesus is, what He did, and the gift He gave us. We can miss the straightforward act of Love that He demonstrates repeatedly. Like that lady did, we get so caught up in pursuing our selfish things that we miss being connected to God. We lose her zeal for knowing, with certainty, that we are loved by the one who authored love.
As I continue working on my own connected and centered way of living, I think I do feel the way she did, but perhaps not with the same overjoy she has. I think when we give up our sin, shame, regrets, or anything else that holds us back, the burden of all that was given to Jesus, who came to take it away, is so incredibly freeing. I know I genuinely feel that way. I have arrived. At the same time, I've loved Jesus for a long time, and complete trust and surrender have taken me many seasons of living.
If I could ever leave any advice to anyone paying attention to it, it would be to let go of your earthly self, self-centered or selfish ways. Invest time in getting to know the Holy Spirit inside of you, learning to live in that Spirit, and renewing living in the Spirit every day. To temper an overreaching approach so you stay in harmony with the Spirit and do not crowd it out of you.
None of us is getting more time. Each day that goes by is a day closer to your trip home. If I've got that right, then what are you waiting for?
Prayer
Heavenly Father, you are simply incredible. You have given us the gift of the stories in the Bible to guide us. You have given us real people living in a real way to show up and testify to a new life with you. Truly, Father, bless all people who encounter Jesus and fall in love with Your Son. Thank you for your patience, mercy, and grace so we may find our paths to you as we walk each day toward home. Father, ignite the Spirit inside each of us, and for anyone who is held back by anything from being renewed in you, please help them deliver that to the foot of the Cross. Allow them to appreciate the blood cover of your Son, the gift You gave us so that we can be renewed in You. Please keep us, our families, and our friends safe. We pray this in the name of Jesus.
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