He Will Interfere!

Living as a follower of Jesus entails so much more than we ever could have imagined. At 19 years of age when Jesus revealed Himself to me, I saw that I was dead without Him. Now, 42 years later, I continue to be amazed at HOW dead I was and how I still need spiritual "debridement” to be rid of the non-life stuff that still tends to cling to my daily living.

Salvation is a reality given to us as a gift from God by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. It's also a way of living, a process of extending what God has planted in me, that new heart and spirit, into every aspect of my life.

We are given this new life to live in power so we can follow Him. It's rather just like a pilgrimage. On a pilgrimage, there are times when, though the road is more or less level, but the distance to cover is long and hard. There are other times it almost seems overwhelming when the walk becomes a mountainous climb over less than pleasant sharp rocks.

The call from Him is to walk with Him in His power, not ours. Life as it is meant to be known and lived cannot be lived in human strength. We have to face the reality that we are not our own; we are His: spirit, mind, will, emotion and body. There is no dimension of our lives that Jesus is disinterested in. He lives His life in us to do a thorough work of rescue, restoration and transformation. What we find it that He can be quite "interfering", to say the least.

You know we are accustomed to doing things our own way. We've grown "used" to them, even when doing things our own way has produced less than satisfying results. It's what we know and so we stubbornly plow on in our own familiar insanity thinking that THIS time, things will come out differently. Insane, I say, because our ways will never get us to the place the Lord has prepared for us.

His intent is not that we somehow eke by, somehow making it by the "skin of our teeth". St. Pauls makes it very clear that in Christ we are MORE than conquerors...super-victors...through HIM who loves us. It is a great comfort to me to know that, "He who began a good work in me will bring it to completion by the Day of Christ."

Life is not easy because the world is broken. It is not easy because we are the cause of its brokenness. It's not easy because the residue of our old natures (Scripture calls it "the flesh") colludes with sin to try and keep it alive in us...keep us drinking the "Kool-Aid". The Light of Christ is utterly penetrating and will not let us live in any degree of self-deception. Jesus will come in like a hurricane to blow away what we think is shelter so that we learn not to continue building our lives on "sand".

Jesus will interfere with our lives so that we might really live. He'll interfere with our schedules, our relationships, our finances, our time, our recreation...anything that would keep us from knowing...living the full life and destiny He has for us. There is so much more that He has for you and me that Sunday worship and occasional fellowship gatherings or prayer gatherings. He wants to fill you with Himself, to give you eyes to see as He sees, a heart that is moved as His heart it and power to make a marked difference in the lives of people who do not yet know Him.

If you are experiencing the interference of Jesus, do not resist...yield and surrender. We have to learn dependence, trust and perseverance. God is doing in us what we could never accomplish...ever. The Light of Christ has come not merely to expose the darkness, but to expel it and free us from its influence!

I am so glad He keeps interfering. We'd be lost without Him.