Red Wednesday's Wisdom - CHG #9, Part Three

Focus and Surrender My Life to God’s Control
How challenging did you find the SW for CHG # 9?  The surrender part of this guideline is what consistently gnaws at my heart.  When I look at the 6 questions that this SW presented in light of the Scriptures that are about faith and obedience to God and my relationships, like the father/son relationship between Abraham and Isaac, I realize how much clutter I can still create when it comes to my personal relationships and acquaintances.  Here is how I answered those questions with one word.

1. Who or what needs my focus? Mouth
My mouth is the “what” to this question, and it is in terms of what I speak, eat, or drink.

2. Who or what do I need to surrender? Mouth
The “what” in this question is just like the answer to my focus.  It is my mouth, and I need to surrender it to God.  My mouth can be disobedient to God’s plan in terms of what I choose to speak, eat, or drink.  Feeding into those unhealthy choices can eventually have an adverse effect on my overall physical and spiritual health and it can bring emotional pain, not only to me, but to others as well.  There are so many times when I think about the apostle Paul and identify with what he said in Romans 7:15, “I don’t understand myself at all, for I really want to do what is right, but I don’t do it.”

3. Who or what are you needing to let God control rather than yourself? Mouth
This time, the “what” to this question relates to my mouth and particularly my words.  Too often my words need to be more kind and gentle.  When I hear my daughter so sweetly correcting my grandchildren to speak with more gentleness and kindness, I realize that her message is for me as well, and that it reflects what God’s Word tells me in Galatians 5:22-23, “But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives, he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy peace, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control.”  20 years ago I had a dear friend who helped me to identify the need to be gentler, and 20 years later I am still working on being gentler.  As we have learned from CHG #5, change is a slow and gradual process, but I can see the many layers that God has been peeling away as our family slowly and gradually heals from our long term history of hurtful words. 

4. What keeps you from having faith? Doubt  
At this time in my life, I would have to say that the doubt is linked to discipline, particularly with my exercising and what I consume.  Over the course of my life time, my discipline in these areas has been pretty unwavering, but as of lately, there has been less conviction.  I feel like I am at a crossroads both physically and spiritually, and I know that it is closely connected to the past two years and the diagnosis of two rare cancers.  Writing down these thoughts and feelings is so important because experience has taught me that when I do this the answers will come, even though they are not there for me right now.  Once again, I find myself identifying with a man whose story is told in the Book of Mark. Open up your own Bibles and read Mark 8:14-29.  In these verses, you find a father whose son was possessed by an evil spirit and the boy got healed by Jesus.  The story is about faith, and some people’s lack of it.  In Mark 8:23, the father makes this comment to Jesus, “I do believe, but help me with my doubt!”
  
5. What lacks obedience in your life? Mouth 
From my answers to these questions, you can see that that I have used the same one word to answer four of the questions.  My mouth is what I have been focusing on as I surrender it to God’s control.  Being obedient to God’s personal plan regarding how I need to speak and what I need to avoid with respect to what I eat, will enhance my health, and help me to be more kind and gentle in what I say.

6. What are you fearful of? Disobedience
My disobedience is related to my mouth.
Disobedience = Sin
Sin = Clutter              
As I think about disobedience being equal to sin, and sin equal to clutter, it is a good time to also remind myself that I will always be dealing with the issues of disobedience and sin until the day I die.  Remember when I first introduced you to the concept of clutter?  I said that clutter never goes away.  We can though minimize it and we can lessen it, and thus experience healing; that is what I need to remember and hold on to as I focus and surrender control to God.

This week your SW is to write down your definition for:
♥Focus
♥Surrender
♥Control
♥Faith
♥Obedience
♥Fear

In closing, I pray Father, we come to you wanting to release our fears to You. Please replace those fears with the FAITH that only comes from believing in You and what Your Word tells us.   Show us how to walk out in that faith by TRUSTING in You to meet our every need no matter how small or big it may be.