Renewal

Psalm 19:7-9 ~

The instruction of the Lord is perfect, 

renewing one’s life;

the testimony of the Lord is trustworthy,

making the inexperienced wise.

The precepts of the Lord are right,

making the heart glad;

the command of the Lord is radiant,

making the eyes light up.

The fear of the Lord is pure,

enduring forever;

the ordinances of the Lord are reliable

and altogether righteous.

I feel like the Lord has been taking me on a journey of self-discovery the past few years that has been painful and yet, healing. Everything I rely on in my life has been stripped away and the mirror into my soul has been thrown wide open.

And in that mirror He is revealing deep wounds, ugly truths, and areas of my life that I've kept hidden. It's a painful process and each time I think those wounds are healed something new pops up which causes a chain reaction of emotions and ugliness that I need to take back to God. 

As I was reading this morning, I came across these verses in Psalm 19. Even though this process has been painful and continues to be so, I know that God's teaching and instruction brings about restoration and renewal. When I allow Him to lay bare those ugly and broken spaces of my life, healing begins to happen. When I make myself vulnerable and open to HIs instruction, I become stronger because I'm allowing Him to work in me and I'm no longer relying on myself. 

So many of us have a "pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps" mentality that carries over into our Christian walk. We think that sheer willpower will help us become spiritually mature. The reality is that it takes a different approach. It takes humility and honesty and submission to the Holy Spirit. It means that we have to be willing to let the Lord work in those broken parts of our life that we've tried to keep hidden.

When we allow the process of the Lord's instruction to happen, we can see from these verses that there is restoration, there is wisdom and there is joy.

Allow God to begin to work in those broken spaces of your life. Healing comes through the pain of God's instruction.