M.I.P: Mess in Progress

5-3-12

"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." Ez. 11:19

In my last post I talked about having a new heart and referenced this verse at the end.  Well, I have been doing some more reflecting on this verse in Ezekiel over the past week.  I sometimes refer to myself as an M.I.P:  Mess In Progress.  I think we all have something we have to work through.  God is always revealing layer after layer to me when it comes to my own sin and brokenness.  In His gracious love He reveals to me the places where my heart is divided and hardened by sin.  When He reveals it my responsibility is to acknowledge it for what it is , repent, and trust it into the hands of Christ.  Once we get through one issue we move to another. It’s a lifelong process of God doing this work of redemption in our hearts.  It’s really a humbling experience too, but a great one because it is where freedom lies as we learn to submit every part of ourselves to the Father. 

Yep, I’m a mess but thanks be to God I’m a M.I.P.!  It’s not a self-defeating, depressing place to be; no it’s a good place to be because in working through the mess we meet Jesus.  He really can restore our hearts.  He really can make us and our loved ones truly whole, happy, and free.  Friends, I’ve realized in life there is no point in running from or hiding our weaknesses and insufficiencies. There is absolutely NO shame in being real.  Because when we do this, when we hide, we stay in the darkness. We cannot just cover up things and think they’ll disappear.  It is when we come out into the light, when we are real and authentic, that something redemptive happens.  The light of Jesus Christ breaks through our darkness and our despair becomes hope, our strongholds begin to crumble and the chains start to fall.  God is just waiting for us to come to Him; to be real, honest and open about the sins and junk we have in our lives.  We’ve all got them, the addictive compulsive habits, the jealousy, lust, unforgiveness, bitterness, pride, etc..  But for the grace of God we would all be a mess.  It’s time to be real, it’s time to look at our own selves and stop looking at others.  Take a look at your own heart, it’s okay, it really is okay to admit the ways you’ve wronged God and your neighbor. 

The beauty of Jesus Christ is that He longs to walk beside us in this journey through life.  He really can take our hearts of stone turn them into undivided hearts of flesh, where the power of His loves nourishes and directs our lives.  It is then that the healing will fall like a flood in our personal lives, in our families, in our churches, communities, and Lord willing all around this world.   Because when we start getting free and living in the fullness of God in Christ, people we really want what we have.  I haven't gotten it all figured out, and I know I never will until I met Jesus face to face, but we're moving forward in Jesus' Name.  I’m an M.I.P. and proud of it.  What about you? J