Framed in Faith: 22

Sometimes as I settle into stillness before God, I struggle to free my mind and heart and soul to be fully present with him. I feel tied to my devotional "To Do" list. I keep knotting up in feelings of unworthiness. I get tangled in earthly distractions and my own inefficacy.

Questions crash the quiet. Am I doing this right? Am I getting God's message loud and clear? Am I praying hard enough? Sincerely enough? Have I spent enough time with God? Have I said the things I need to say? The things he wants to hear? Questions crowd out Christ's grace-filled gift of freedom.

"Hush," God says. "Enough, already."

Shush the doubts. Silence the insecurities. God wants me to know I am enough.

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I am enough because God loves me, not because of what I've done, but because of who he is. Heavenly Father. Creator of all that is good. Steadfast and merciful.

It is enough that I simply rest in the stillness with God. Our relationship doesn't hinge on what I am doing. It is secure in what Christ has already done.

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Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. Galatians 5:1

On the cross Christ set us free — free from sin, free from our unworthiness, free from having to earn our salvation. In selfless, self-sacrificing love, Christ saved us with a one-time act that lasts for all of eternity.

That's a big gift. Sometimes the biggest and most generous gifts are the hardest to accept. But that's exactly what we need to do. Because the alternative — the doubting our worthiness and questioning God's grace — entangles us and enslaves us in our old ways.

Paul urges us to throw off that old yoke and to embrace this free gift. "Stand fast" in our "liberty." Be bold in our freedom. Be free in knowing God loves us that much.

Be free from self-doubt; embrace God-trust.

Be free from striving to earn God's love; embrace being God's love in the world.

Be free from the guilt of old sin; embrace God's forgiveness and a new life.

Be free from doing; embrace being, simply being a child of God

It's a tall order. But God fills us with the Holy Spirit to help make it happen.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death! Romans 8:1-2

If you need help in accepting this freedom in Christ, won't you join me in prayer?

Lord,

I am a creature of this earth, flawed and imperfect. Stained and rumpled and ragamuffin-y. For some reason I expect you to see me with human eyes. I expect your disappointment, and I hide myself from you in shame. I try to scrub off the dirt and deficiencies I see so clearly. But you see me like a small child wearing the days adventures and misadventures, and you love me for what you see deep in my heart.

I know that you invite me to be free from my slavish ways of sin and guilt, of self-doubt, of striving where you have already succeeded. Help me to be free in your salvation. Help me to accept your loving grace. And help me to respond by wrapping myself in the selfless love that says, "My God is bigger and better than I can ever imagine. My love for God is so overpowering I have to share it with everyone in my midst."

I can't get to this place of adoration and acceptance on my own. I need your Holy Spirit to guide me there. And this is all the more reason I need to be still with you. To still my weak ways and embrace your grace. To quiet my doubts so there is room for me to hear your gentle voice.

Help me to remember that you accept me totally and completely, just as I am. Help me feel free to be myself — to be the person you created me to be — trusting that you can use my messy life to write your own special message. Help me to freely, boldly share your message in my corner of the world.

Amen