A New Name, Part 2

I arrived home at 2:30 a.m. and stumbled into bed at 3 and woke at 9 with some thoughts swirling through my head. I’m so thankful for the words of encouragement that I receive from readers and friends. They go straight to my heart and are a healing balm. I appreciate them.

But I don’t post my thoughts for that reason. And I also know some of these posts may make some feel uncomfortable or question my motives. My words may cause people to squirm because they think I should keep them stuffed inside me. But I can’t do that.

The reason is because I always want to give God the glory for the work He is doing in my life. He is the reason I share what I do. I cannot sit quietly by and not speak up when He is working transformation in my life.

Matthew 10:32-33 says, “Therefore, everyone who will acknowledge Me before men, I will also acknowledge him before My Father in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.” We always use these verses to mean acknowledgement of His existence, but I think it’s more. The Greek word for deny means to refuse. Are we refusing Christ? Are we refusing to acknowledge who He is, but are we also refusing to publicly acknowledge His good work in our life?

I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to do that. We help no one when we never affirm the work of the Holy Spirit in us, helping us to become more like Christ in our actions, attitudes and character. As we wrestle with these things and testify to others what God has done and is continuing to do, we are being a public witness for what He can do. When we are transparent, we allow others to see that they are not alone in their struggles. I’m not saying let’s all air our dirty laundry, but if we never can be vulnerable  then I wonder how much God will be able to use us to minister to others.

Each morning this past week, I went for a short walk outside my hotel. They had walking trails that overlooked the Rocky Mountains and went down into a canyon. The thing that struck me is how rocky and bare everything was. The vegetation was sparse and unusual. Yet, right in the midst of brown scrub grass there was a patch of sunflowers growing. It brought a splash of color to the scenery.

We can be a patch of color to a drab world. We can bring encouragement to another as we tell them of what God is doing in our lives, and how He can do the same for them.

Don't refuse God by keeping silent. Let’s give Him the glory for what He is doing in us.

Psalm 115:1 ~ Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.