II Corinthians 5:17(NIV) “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he (me, we, she, you), he (me, we, she, you) is a new creation, the old has gone and the new has come!
As I move closer to the Lord, I am beginning to see what I left behind of my old life in Egypt. I know that it is by the Grace of God that He has unfolded this mystery to me. The awakening of this understanding has caused me to want to shed more of my old life, and to sanctify my life to a greater degree...that I may know more of Him in greater measure.
I am at a point in my “worship odyssey“ where I can really see that my old life, Egypt, had no love for me and was governed by the very things he listed in Galatians 5:19, ”sexual immorality, impurity, and wickedness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, conflict, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, rebellion, division and envy, drunkenness,” you name it and my life had it. It was darkness and I thought I lived in the light.
After being called out of my slavery in Egypt, I began to worship an invisible God that showed Himself to me in very real and purposeful ways. He began to speak to me and I began to recognize His voice over the other voices in my mind that once governed my heart. I realized that I was on auto-pilot. I was doing things because I had been raised that way, and I came to realize how the ways of Egypt had been so ingrained in me. I thought if I just gave my heart to Christ, Egypt would be no more, but I had no idea that Egypt was such a part of me. I found out I was still dysfunctional and needed to set some boundaries in my life. I needed to go to work on the things that continued to hinder me from seeing Him closer. Once I realized what some of my issues were, I found that I was powerless in myself to fix them. I needed to hand them over to my Wonderful Counselor. I am now on the road to recovery…allowing God’s healing balm to set me free once again.
God continues to heal me and break the chains that had held me bound. His word says that His divine power gives me everything I need to live a new life through Jesus my Savior. He has replaced those awful things of my past with the fruit of His Spirit...love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. I am constantly reminded in His word I must not dwell on the things in my past but to remember my God has cleansed me from my old life. I now walk in the newness of life spoken of in Galatians 6:15 which states that what really counts in this life is a new creation of which I am, in Christ. I am His child and through the spirit of adoption I do cry Abba.
I am to renew my mind daily with the washing of water by His word, I am to offer my body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to my God by giving Him praise and honoring His name among His people and those who are yet to come to Him. I am to conduct myself as His priest, to serve Him in His presence, and to show forth the praises of Him who has called me out of my dark past into His wonderful light. I am to proclaim to a world without hope that I once was nothing and God has made me something to herald, and that now there is a hope in this world. You see, I really am a new creation because now I do not think the same as I did in my past life.
I now know I am the righteousness of God in Christ and that my life is hidden in Him. I still struggle with some of the chains that held me bound in Egypt. We cannot just shed the darkness like a piece of clothing because it remains in us and has to be worked out of us in ways only God knows the process. Once we have come to Christ, Egypt's works can no longer exist in our lives. We were not just slaves of the land, we were slaves to the mentality that ruled the land and the mentality infiltrated our hearts.
Yes, Christ has set us free! Egypt is forever there to remind us that God is not finished with us yet. It keeps us humble and it keeps us holy before His throne. Every time we look in His face we are faced with a Holy God, an all-consuming fire that burns away the chaff that remains in our hearts. He does this because He loves us and we are to yield to His refining fire. For after being tried in the fire, what will stand is the gold that our worship produces a life sold out to Christ.
My goal is to allow God to continue to purge Egypt from my thoughts, my heart, my actions and my mind. I want to remember Egypt as a point of reference so that I may tell of what He has done for me as I now live in my promised land. I want to openly celebrate my freedom in Christ knowing I have nothing to hide. I look forward to celebrating my liberty with others as we celebrate all that Christ has done for us. God is and will always be a God of new beginnings.
You are my rock, my fortress, my strong tower; you do not hide your face from those who seek you. You have never forsaken me; you always remain faithful to those who truly call upon Your name. May I never forget your graciousness towards me My God.
If you feel that you need help dealing with hurts, habits and hang-ups I would like to recommend a program called “Celebrate Recovery”. It's a biblical and balanced program that can help you overcome the residue of Egypt. For more information visit www.saddleback.com
Experiencing Worship, The Study