"They defeated [overcame] him through the blood of the Lamb
and the bold word of their witness.
They weren't in love with themselves;
they were willing to die for Christ." (The Message)
Friday night I was zoinked after a long day of school, work study, Deaf Den (Deaf church service), t-shirt party and then running errands with my dad. Sadly, when I'm tired I don't try nearly half as hard to keep a reign on my words or attitudes. I got into it with my dad and was offended by whatever he said and took it all personally. Even while I was bickering with him I was apologizing for being so tired and argumentative. Psh. I was being an emotive slacker.
On the drive back to my dorm after dropping my dad off I was frustrated with myself for not keeping things in check, for letting loose my grouchiness on my dad, and for other general missteps of recent. "I'm just feeling like I'm not cutting the mustard, God. I keep messing up and not living up to who You have called me to be, to all I can be in You. I'm stubborn and thick-headed, Papa. Please teach me how to live like You've called me to, to show Your grace and love."
I got back to the dorm and decided that I would just brush my teeth, pray, and sleep since I was so exhausted. Then as I started reading it felt like God spoke something to me through that verse.
"You need to remember Whose you are and who you are in Me."
I had been kind of arguing that things people were saying to me made me feel like I was stupid or inferior. God was reminding me that what other people say is not important (which I think most people know, but it's hard to remember), even what I say about myself isn't important, but what's important is what God says about me.
- Remember Whose you are
- Remember who you are in Him
- This life is not it
They overcame by the blood of the Lamb - as Pastor Randy said tonight, it's because of Jesus' power that they overcame. In our separation from God, Jesus chose to be obedient to His Father and offer His life as a spotless sacrifice, acceptable as the only alternative for us since we can't make that kind of sacrifice. By His grace through my faith I belong to Him, the One who created all the things I can see and the things I can't see.
God says that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation (2 Cor 5:17) and that He has given us everything that we need to live the life He desires for us, His abundant, overflowing, and overcoming life (2 Peter 1:3, John 10:10). It's no small deal to Him either - He adopted me and calls me daughter, a child of His, grafted into the vine. He also says there is NO thing that can separate us from His love.
I won't be around to complain in 100 years about the argument my dad and I had last night. However, today, next year, and in the longer run I can make a difference when my words, thoughts, and actions are those that reflect God's love and show people that He's real and active in my life and wants to have a relationship with them. People are hungry for the hope that God offers. My prerogatives and selfish desires pale in the light of God's calling on my life.
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