freedom

Thinking more about what it means to be "in Christ", tonight.  (continued from yesterday's post)

2 of the scariest things I can ever thinking of happening are Cancer &/or the death of a child (born or unborn).  I've experienced neither & I can't say how I'd react... but I know a few people who have been through these situations.  The one's who I know and who had a strong relationship with God beforehand--they were in Christ before...-- they are the ones who stay buried in Him through it all, constantly praising God.  Yes, they ask Him hard questions. Yes, they fight with Him over the loss or sickness. Yes, they were devastated. Yes, I'm sure they sobbed incessantly for months. Yes and Yes again. But they did not desert God, instead they hurled themselves deeper into Him.  And they came out with peace on the other side.  My friend who I referenced in my post "Violets" misses her son everyday... gosh there are days that I miss him.  I cried my eyes out when Nathan opened his birthday present from her; I miss her little boy who would've been just a couple months younger than mine.  I know she doesn't take a breathe without wishing that things couldve been different. And there are somethings on this earth that we will not get answers to.  God may not give us the answers we desire, but He does give us the peace we are starving for. Peace that He promises will pass understanding. And when we are "in Christ" we can have that peace.

There are other friends who I've known to be extremely strong Christians--in Christ-- and the enemy comes to sift as Jesus warned is the desire of our foe.  He will pick us apart if he can just distract us from Christ long enough and we will come up empty. When we are in Christ we have this choice to open our hearts and give Him everything which causes Him to flow through more and more freely the more we give over to Him, but we can shut ourselves off to a certain extent which causes much harm in our hearts.  These people, they gradually change and suddenly everyone is wondering what's going on with so and so... I've been this person... more than once. and it is not fun, it is painful and nothing has ever made me feel more empty.  Who I was before I gave my life to Christ becomes more evident than the person I became after, and that is the very reason for the empty feeling, even though I'm still technically in Christ, I had cut off the steady streaming flow of Him into my heart and started filling it with all kinds of other things trying to satisfy myself.  But nothing satisfies except Him, which is why going back to His Loving embrace is the only answer to the filling feeling of freedom.