From the Inside Out

We sang a song during worship, “From the Inside Out”.  It was written by Joel Houston of Hillsong.  I decided I should make it my theme song.  Why?   Because “From the Inside Out”’ is the essence of me really gaining a revelation of who Christ really is and what it means to be His follower, now and for many previous years. I feel that when I sing those lyrics, it’s me unpacking everything I knew to be true about God in the various stages of my life.

I have always dealt with most of the fairly typical passage-of-life issues. My friends were making decisions about their future, and my own direction had been fairly clear since at the ripe old age of eleven, God grabbed a hold of my heart, and I could do nothing but surrender.  Still, however, I had to face that all-important stage of differentiation and I began to ask myself, “Who’s faith do I really accept? Where can I anchor the will of my life? What do I truly believe?”

God had a plan and a purpose for my life but if He had given me a futuristic glimpse of my future, I would have turned tail and ran as fast as I could - to where, I don’t know, but it would have been, “come on feet, don’t fail me now”!  That was a very long time ago, actually in the last century! I have to admit that most of my walk with God, especially when I was younger, seemed more like a ride on

Cedar Point’s roller coaster,  the “Mean Streak”, than a stroll along the beach or a pleasant Sunday drive.  Don’t get me wrong, I love roller coasters.  Larry and I were always game to try the newest coasters.  I did have to quit riding the wild coasters and rides after my double neck surgeries.  The fact is, if my neck were jolted or tilted more than 10-15 degrees in any direction, I would become an instant quadriplegic or it could result in sudden death.  So. . . .you get the picture, right?

But, as the years passed and I grew closer in relationship to my Savior, He provide divine insight as I learned to study His Word, I was able to distinguish His still, small voice in my heart, and instead of the “Mean Streak”, it was more like riding the train that goes all the way around the park to the other side.  You know, when you’re too tired to ride any more, stand in the long lines, or hike to another section of the park, you say, “let’s ride the train!”  It gives you a nice break from the hurry and rush to stand and wait in yet another line.

I was maturing humanly, of course, but I was also growing in my understanding of faith and my relationship with God.  I have many times had to come to terms with how I was going to live my life. My plans were kind of being swept out the window, but through it all, I experienced and continue to experience His grace.

Make no mistake, there were times in my life that I denied that Romans 8:28 was part of God’s word and it certainly was not applicable to my life.  There were challenges that He allowed me to face and I stumbled and fell miserably. There were obstacles set in my path that with His help, I determined to be the “spiritual” bullhead and work my way through.  There were spiritual rivers that I came to but after swimming so long against the current, being exhausted, I began to tread water and float.  It was easier.  Even when I was rearing my three children, and I didn’t feel like it, I instilled God’s principles within them and taught them to face life by Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.”  I still remind them of that today that they are “can do” kids (even though they are all grown with lives of their own). I share with my students in class from the first day of each new semester that “success comes in cans, and failure comes in can’ts”.

If there is one thing that those who really know me can say is that I have a “God-sensitive” heart. I have a love relationship with Christ as a Father has with his daughter.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 8:13 to be careful that the freedoms that we enjoy do not hinder anyone whose faith may not be as strong as ours and that we do no harm to those who may have a delicate conscience.  It would be unconscionable for me to cause a spiritual disaster to one who was “weaker” in Christ.  Whatever I do in life, even when I do not feel like it, or times that I feel like ripping portions of “inapplicable” Scripture from the Word, my sole purpose is to still bring praise, to show and bring honor, and glory to our Wonderful Savior. My prayer and my song:

“Your will above all else

My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame. . .”

Read all of the words to this song. Listen to the song with the link below. Maybe today you feel like I have many times.

“A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame. . .”

I know that when all else fades, His light will shine, through me, from the inside out.  To God be ALL the glory! -- RLS

From The Inside Out

A thousand times I've failed
Still Your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
I'm caught in Your grace
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Your will above all else
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing You praise
Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring
You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

In my heart and my soul
Lord I give You control
Consume me from the inside out
Lord let justice and praise
Become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting
Your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending
Your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart
Is to bring
You praise
From the inside out
Lord my soul cries out

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-afZJ9_TIM

The Master Weaver's Plan

For Christmas when I was just about nine years old, Mom and Dad gave me a small loom – big enough with which to weave a potholder.  It came with a bag filled with colorful cotton, looped strands of material which could be woven into 6” x 6” squares.  All of my aunts soon became recipients of my weaving skills and they proudly displayed my potholder talent in their

kitchens. I chose the various colors and their placement in each potholder that I made and carefully finished off each design so that it would be useful for many years to come.

I have been earnestly praying and seeking God for his intervention in some areas, and while I am unable to share details in this blog, God already knows what they are and for whom they are directed.  My heavenly Father reminded me that my life was like those little potholders.  Not only is He a Master Potter and we the clay, but he is also our Master, skillful weaver.  Into my life over many years, He has woven many colors and many patterns.  If you have ever seen a piece of beautifully woven material, you will want to view the underside as well.  There you will see where “all of the actual work” has taken place.  There may be some materials knotted off, some cut and tied, and some strands woven skillfully throughout the garment.  There may be some areas that appear very rough and undone and some as smooth as silk. 

Each fiber in a weaver’s loom is strategically placed to enhance and strengthen the material just as those “fibers”, those “strands” are placed in our lives for reasons known, sometimes, only to the Weaver.

It is difficult to understand why and how our Master Weaver chooses the colors, the type of fibers, and how thick or how long each piece is, but 2 Timothy 1:12 reminds us, “For this reason I also suffer these things, but I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.”

We may not always see the answers to our prayers nor hear of victories for which we have prayed, but sufficient to know that, for a purpose and in the Weaver’s plan, these things are woven, each for a reason, into the structure of each of our lives.

The Master Weaver’s Plan                       

Our lives are but fine weavings
That God and we prepare,
Each life becomes a fabric planned
And fashioned in His care.

We may not always see just how
The weavings intertwine,
But we must trust the Master's hand
And follow His design,
For He can view the pattern
Upon the upper side,

Sometimes a strand of sorrow
Is added to His plan,
And though it's difficult for us,
We still must understand
That it's He who fills the shuttle,
It's He who knows what's best,
So we must weave in patience
And leave to Him the rest...

Not till the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Shall God unroll the canvas
And explain the reason why ---
The dark threads are as needed
In the Weaver's skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned.

---Author Unknown

“. . . Not till the loom is silent, and the shuttles cease to fly, shall God unroll the canvas, and explain the reason why --- The dark threads are as needed In the Weaver's skillful hand, as the threads of gold and silver in the pattern He has planned”.  

Someday, Lord, I’ll understand.  And even if I don’t, I will trust you.  -RLS