Because He Loves Me – He Will Cleanse Us – Chapter 8

This chapter, again, has been very helpful. I am brought to tears when I think of His kindness in cleansing me. He not only did this fully in Jesus, He also cleanses me daily (really moment by moment) as I choose my way over His and sin. I am overwhelmed at His graciousness toward me. As I read this chapter I jotted down some of the concepts, by way of quotes, that impacted me most. Then below each quote I added my response.

Quote: “When it comes to believing that He rose from the dead, we are, it is true, still walking by faith and not by sight, but we have the reliable testimony of those who actually saw the resurrected Lord to encourage us.”

My Response: Walking by faith we celebrate this glorious truth this time of year. Do I really believe it? How it changed my daily lives?

Quote: “There is one sin that is at the root of all sin: unbelief….And even though we who have saving faith have passed from death to life, from condemnation to justification, fragments of this unbelief still remain. At times we still wonder if He is really there, if He is really good, if His word is really reliable, if He loves us. We wonder if He can make us happy.”

My Response: We are so quick to question God’s goodness in our lives. When something difficult happens our we are interrupted by sickness or challenges, it is easy to quickly forget how much God loves us. In the midst of these hardships, we often choose our own way (being distressed, anxious, angry or worried) because deep down we believe our way is better. We behave as if the happy plan we have is what is best for us…we are so wrong, but our sin reveals a heart that is so easily swayed by our earthly definition of happiness.

Quote: “It becomes sinful when thoughts of an uninterrupted, self-determined day captivate my soul, when accomplishing my goals means more to me than grateful obedience. My plan has become my god; I am an idolater. I worship my idea of a successful day, my right to decree how its every moment will go.”

Response: All I can say is “ouch” to this statement…as a mom, I am frustrated at times when I can’t seem to put together a full sentence and have it heard without interruption or when I just want to think long enough to write down a thought to act on later. But, when I am impatient and frustrated at these moments, my heart is revealed…I want what I am doing at the moment to be the most important thing. And, while sometimes it is truly the most important thing at that moment…the way to giving it the attention it needs is NOT paved by impatience and frustration.

Quote: “The gospel declarations the Lord has made are meant to free us from our never-ending craving for more. Because He has made us His own and given us everything in Christ, we don’t have to shove others aside, envy them, fight with them, or murder them. We’ve got something better: a God who delights in drawing near to us, exalting us, and granting us grace (James 4:6-8). The gospel frees us from demanding our own way, because nothing we desire to obtain is worth sinning against such love and kindness.”

Response: Because of the gospel, we can be content and complete in Christ! I must cling to this and really believe it. I must give up the cheap substitutes that only satisfy for a brief moment and run to the One who satisfies for an eternity.

Quote: “Our problem is not that we desire happiness. No, our problem is that we continue to foolishly believe that we can attain it apart from Him. We think that if we just try hard enough, the next time we’ll get it right (whatever it is) and we’ll be happy. Instead of pushing through to the true source of all joy and happiness, we sinfully believe the false promises of lesser gods.”

Response: I will not be happy when finding my life in anything or anyone else…only God will satisfy.

I really appreciate Ellyse’s practical steps to take:

1. Pray that God would reveal your unbelief and idolatry to you.
2. Prayerfully meditate on Scripture and ask God to apply it to you.
3. Confess any unbelief or idolatry that you’re aware of.
4. Ask God to make Himself your Chief Joy.
5. Meditate on God’s goodness to you in the gospel.
6. Invite others to speak into your life and help you see your sin, particularly your unbelief and idolatry.
7. Prayerfully make a plan of how to respond to gospel obligations the next time you are tempted to sin.

Ask yourself these questions:

Referencing the last time I know I sinned…

1. What did I think would make me happier than what I had?
2. Why do I believe that there is happiness in attaining this?
3. What makes me most afraid, angry, worried or sad? Why?
4. What is the lie I am believing about God, myself, my happiness?
5. What do I boast about?

Quote: “As you consider your answers to these questions, you’ll begin to see your functional gods, those things that you believe will make you happy.”

Response: Oh how easily I settle. It is not just for momentary pleasure, but also for the ways of dealing with the need of the moment that solves it for that moment, but may not be the redemptive way of solving it. For instance, how do I respond when my children sin? Do I sin back as I try to control the situation? Or, do I patiently bring them the truth in love?

Even when we are not faithful, God is. Even when we choose our way, He brings us back to himself. This passage made tears come to my eyes almost immediately upon reading it. “I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean…and from all your idols I will cleanse you.” God is so good to us! He is so kind, patient and faithful. From all of our idols, He will cleanse us.

Amen!