Into Your Hands

Psalms 31:5 “Into your hands I commit my spirit”

Perhaps most know of this saying as something Jesus had said on the cross just before He breathed His last breath.

But as I was reading this morning, it's to be our prayer.  David wrote those words quite a bit earlier in history.  But they weren't just about David.  Jesus brought more life to those words.

The place that I was reading in my devotionals had some very valid, vivid points today.  At the risk of piggybacking on their topic, I will continue.

How often, when you read your Bible, do you look for fulfillment of Scripture?  How often do you look for a prophecy that was fulfilled? 

I have several journals that I write in. This blog being the 5th. The 3rd is one where I write down what I have seen in God's word that was new, amazing  or had never seen before. 

When we come to Christ for Salvation, it isn't simply "Here's your boarding pass to get out of Hell.  When you hear the call, prepare to go."  It begins a new life in Christ.  It begins a transformation of life, heart and mind and soul.  Your Spirit is made new, it's now alive!

Does it mean from here on out all is going to be rosy and bright!?   Sorry, no.  The work of the Holy Spirit is to teach you about Jesus and the Father.  He's to show you what sin is in your life that needs to go.  Spiritual surgery will be coming.  A change of clothes no doubt.  But change is coming.  A new way of thinking about life.  About people.  Things that weren't important before Christ now are. 

But what if He wants me to give up...

So what if Jesus does want you to give up something?  If you truly believe Him to be your Savior and Lord, doesn't it follow that what He wants is now more important?
Many self help books promise a lot but never truly deliver.  I am talking about Christian self help books.  The only book that transforms the mind and heart is the Bible.  Read it, re-read it. Re-read it again.

Romans 12:2 "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect."

Only the Bible can accomplish that. 

Ephesians 5:19 "speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord;"

Many have heard "Garbage in garbage out".

Will if you wish to see beautiful flowers come out of good soil, you plant seeds accordingly.  You fill ground with trash and cover it. It never grows, it dies. It disintegrates.  What you put in is what you get out.

If indeed we put our life in God's hands daily,  if indeed we take up our cross and follow Him daily.  Then it follows that from that fertile ground will come up something beautiful before God.

We can't keep consuming our time with things that really don't matter.  Running off and always doing our own thing.

Jesus said that we are in His hands.
Jesus said He is in the Father's hands.

Just because you are a Christian, going through a rough spell, doesn't mean that has changed.  God allows some of what happens to us to happen in order to change us or someone near us.  Sometimes those Spiritual surgeries are very complex.  Very difficult.  May take years to complete, but they are worth it.
Believer, trust God, it's worth it. 
In coming to Christ we are justified, made right, before God.  But the process of Sanctification takes time.  The cleansing of our lives.  As someone put on a bumper sticker "We catch em, Jesus cleans em."  We who come to Christ are definitely dirty.  Sin covers us and permeates our body.  We don't know to what extent but God does.  We were in darkness, we couldn't see it all. It was normal to us. Now that we are in the light of Christ, everything is now evident. Boy do we need a bath, a shower, a cleansing.

Scripture also says that we become part of the body of Christ, the Church.  It goes on to say that each part has a purpose.  We are not all going to be a Billy Graham. We aren't all going to be a Paul or a Peter.

We are to be who God needs us to be.

We have OUR purpose.  If I am an elbow I shouldn't be jealous of someone who is a mouth. Or an eye who thinks less of a foot.  Scripture talks about that too.

Finding YOUR purpose will help you be the best you can be in Christ.  Ask Him.  Jesus will show you.  Doing your own thing apart from God's Plan for you will only get you into trouble.  Been there lived that. My own 30 years in the wilderness.
Jumped the gun and wasted a great deal of my life. I wasn't ready.  Why didn't the Lord take the Israelites directly to the promised land? Why so long in the desert? It wasn't solely due to the way THEY were.  It also had to do with the Promise Land not being ready for THEM.

Planting requires good seed, good ground to get good results. 

So be patient.  Impatience was one of the problems of the Israelites.  Don't let it be one of yours.

In His hands we commit our Spirit.  Let that be your prayer today.