Stains

"He guides me through the paths of righteousness for His Name's sake." - Psalm 23:3

For the past week this verse has been resonating with me. Jesus said that the Kingdom of God is like a treasure. I know I've found that treasure inside of me, but it was dirty and I've been trying to polish and clean it. The reason this verse has been resonating with me is because sometimes I feel I'm really close to having it clean, and then God reveals even more dirt and grime, and all sorts of gunk stuck to it, the results of my selfishness and pride, and the hardest things to clean. The surface stains are easy, it's the deeper stains that are really tough to see and remove. It's painful.

Last Wednesday, God showed me something about myself that I didn't know I had in me. I guess I knew, but I didn't pay it any mind and I never thought it was bad until that night. Another deep stain to remove and even more reason to give thanks to God because, truly, the only good in me is Him. Everything else in me seeks my own comfort and my own reward.

We all have this treasure inside of us. The Lord leads us through paths of righteousness because I think that this treasure is a mirror that needs to reflect His image, His love, and His mercy… if only we can work on getting it spotless.

Today's Prayer:
Oh Lord, You are so good in showing me all the things inside of me that are soiled. I am so grateful that You, in Your mercy, have taken me to mold me into a reflection of Yourself, despite how slow and difficult the process is. I am so very far from perfect, but I can do all things in You who strengthen me. In Jesus' Name we pray, amen.

Hear The Voice

"My sheep hear my voice and I know them; they follow me and I give them eternal life. They shall never perish and no one will ever steal them from me." - John 10:27-28

We all hear voices. Besides the voices of our family and friends, the voices that might speak loudest to us are the ones telling us we're going to fail or that we're not good enough. We might hear voices telling us we're lonely and things will never work out. Voices telling us we're failures and we've messed up too badly to fix things. But a voice that most people can never single out is the voice of God. He does speak to each and every one of us even if right now you don't believe it. His is a voice so faint, yet so strong, that only when you abandon yourself to prayer and meditation you will be able to hear it. This voice drowns out all negative thoughts you have put in your mind and all those negative thoughts others have put in your mind. If you don't think He listens and doesn't try talking to you, you're wrong…you just haven't really taken the time to listen. And what He wants to tell you is that your situation or your past don't really matter to Him at all, it's that you're taking the time to listen right now. If you quieten yourself tonight, shut out the outside world and put yourself in His presence, you will hear Him tell you that you are His child. As a lamb is taken care of and led by a shepherd, so you are taken care of by the Lord. No other voice will be able to block what He's telling you because no one can take you away from Him. No harm, evil, sorrow or sin can separate you from your Lord. Listen to the voice to guide you.

Today's Prayer:
Lord, when I am still and my heart is open to You, You speak to me. Do away with everything else that drowns out Your voice so You are all I focus on. I love You and want to be led by You. In Your Name we pray, amen.