receive

"Man finds it hard to get what he wants, because he does not want the best; God finds it hard to give, because He would give the best, and man will not take it." -George MacDonald

I was teaching at my cell group last night about breaking free from and eradicating sin, and one of my points (out of Romans 6) was that once we let go of our sin, we need to walk in new life. What does that mean? New life means that there was an old life...and that old life was a life of sin, not focused on God. The old life brought curses, and the new life cancels the curse in order to bring blessing. So, to walk in new life means not only walking according to God's will BUT also receiving the blessings He gives us as a result of that walk!

I went to prayer morning this morning and the one thing I walked away hearing in my heart was that once we have come to God and laid our sin at the cross, we can and need to receive His love and blessing. It is a false humility to not receive the grace that Jesus died for us to receive. This is one area in my life that I wrestle with...and the quote above truly describes the reality of my situation. People (I am preaching to myself here...) tend to hold onto this idea that they don't deserve good things and will often settle for second best or even less than that. This can be due to guilt/shame or having a poverty mindset. Either way, this is NOT how we are meant to live! Christ died not just for us to be set free from sin, but to be set free from bondage, sickness, poverty, and death! And Christ is the way into the relationship with the Father where we can receive His gifts. I am trying to give up my right to say what I do or don't deserve, and am praying for God's help so I can receive.