Fully Possessed

I want to be fully possessed by His presence. It’s a line from a recent book I read, but exactly how I feel and my heart’s greatest desire. I read two books back to back that have begun to move me to that place. They have inspired me to redefine how I define a successful day and shift my way of thinking. And as I redefine and shift, I also must be able to do this in the midst of struggle. That, my friend, is where the rub is.

The first book called I Will Die Free is about a wrongly accused minister who was sent to a Cuban prison for 22 years. He was tortured every single day of those 22 years, yet remained faithful to God and held worship services in the prison to bring many to Christ. He focused completely on all things eternal in the midst of pain and agony that I can’t imagine enduring for 1 day, let alone 22 years. He was steadfast and drew strength from Jesus when he had absolutely nothing to give, nothing left to offer of his broken body. And God was faithful to the end. The pastor declared, “Under no circumstances would I cease witnessing for my God. Witnessing for Him was my power, my strength, my will to go on.”

Last week, I was struggling through a difficult situation. I cried. I prayed. I buried myself in His Word and I prayed some more. Eventually, I just fell at the feet of Jesus and laid there all week. I had nothing left to offer. And He came through as faithfully as always. He brought me peace, joy, wisdom and a complete turnaround in the situation that was before me. Jesus, Jesus, Jesus…that’s all I got to say! I stayed eternally focused, but at times became weary at what was before me. I wanted to be done and run. I didn’t move in that direction, but my lack of faith led me to even give voice to those sentiments inside my head. I, obviously, have a ways to go.

The second book titled Love Has A Face details the journey of a lady born with one hip and one leg who has allowed herself to be consumed by the love of Jesus in Sudan. She started an orphanage and is now caring for almost 90 little ones. She is witnessing great miracles and watching the love of Jesus shine into the hearts of the people in her village on a daily basis. This lady epitomizes being radically intimate with Jesus to the point that she defines success only by a journey deeper into His love. It is from His love that all her actions flow. I want to reach that kind of intimacy. I want to be so transformed that I become the message I’m called to bring. That is my prayer.

So as I enter into a new week with new challenges and things to deal with, I remind myself that going deeper with Him is my only calling for the day. It allows non-eternal things to fall by the wayside and my focus to be squarely on Him. What is significant all of a sudden becomes a speck in my day; stupid things that were consuming my thoughts all of a sudden become distasteful; life has an eternal spring and I’m bouncing to new heights.

This morning, I had something on my mind I wanted to put to rest. I stayed in God’s Word until He had something for me. I prayed until I found peace and God brought it to me. He gave me wisdom and clarity that filled my squishy little brain and moved out all the stuff that didn’t belong. I’m thankful that He loves me so much and never, ever say’s to me, “You again?” He just says, “Come, my precious.”