Inside Outعينة

Very often, when I think that I desperately want or need something new in my life, what I’m really craving is God’s presence, God’s voice, and God’s Word.

In His presence fear flees, and peace and dreams come to the surface.

Dreams that we didn’t even know existed in our hearts.

In Exodus 33:14, God tells us that His presence will follow us wherever we go, and that He will provide rest.

In His presence, we dream in new ways. We align with His heart because He abides in ours, and it transforms us from the inside out. We find purpose through the Truth of His Word. In His presence, anything we ever needed will overflow, in every aspect of our lives.

Out of that abundance, we create with the Master Creator, and the Master Creator creates through us.

He is constantly crafting new things out of the old and dried up areas of our lives. God doesn’t simply change your circumstances and battles, but writes NEW stories, NEW memories, and NEW adventures.

A teachable heart recognizes truth when it comes knocking. It invites truth in to be examined, understood, and applied. Truth invigorates the teachable heart. There is a rush of spiritual adrenaline when truth intersects with an open mind and heart. Pride plateaus in its learning, but a teachable heart continues to scale the mountain of truth, understanding, and wisdom.

When the Lord discovers someone who is teachable, He calls him wise. Wisdom comes from God; therefore, a teachable heart learns the ways of God. The Holy Spirit facilitates teachability, as truth applied transforms behaviors and attitudes. Change that comes from the inside out makes us like Christ: humble, bold, wise, holy, gracious, encouraging, and faithful.

Change doesn’t come easily, even if you understand God has your best interests in mind.

But the transformation shows.

Your character and behavior fall more in line with the life of Christ. People take notice that something is different.

When we ask God to anoint us, we’re asking Him to protect our minds so we can pursue our callings with clarity.

We’re asking Him to help us counteract the temptations of this life with the truth of His unchanging Word.

We’re asking Him to protect us from the inside out so we can produce things like peace, contentment, and joy in a world filled with stress, greed, and anger.