God Storms

Today's Reading: Philippians 3

Scripture:

"I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." Philippians 3

Observation:

All thunderstorms require instability (potential) and lift. The lift is the mechanism that releases the instability. We say that the atmosphere is unstable when air rising in a cloud is warmer than its environment. As the warm air rises it presses the cooler air down creating vertical drafts. The vertical draft strengths basically determine the degree of storm severity.

Application:

That is the essence of what I observe in this passage. The work of God does not stop at salvation. Salvation only creates the beginnings of vertical movements in my life. My response to those movements determines the degree to which my life will be transformed. As I allow the things of God to rise to prominence in my life and the things of me to be pressed down into nothing; I allow God to create vertical drafts which will release the strength of God in my life.

I have to stay in tune with the updrafts God places on my heart. This morning I am sensing three. The first one is the work of grace in my life. I am not able to be holy on my own. I have to release that sense inside of me that God owes me something because of anything good I have done. I deserve nothing short of death and that is all. It is only by God's grace that I matter to Him at all. The work of the cross is my only hope.

The second is I must strive to press on. Since I am covered by grace it is often tempting to rest, take it easy on myself, and be patient with change. That is not the instruction of the scripture. Paul says to press on. I need to get off my rear-end and drive hard after God in every aspect of my life. I need to seek purity. I need to thirst for knowledge. I need to hunger for His movement.

The third is to allow God to become real. Staying in a constant, real connection with God is not an easy thing. The complicating factor is the fact that God messes up my life. He alters my plans, shifts my goals, changes my ambitions and creates a new reality for me. This type of change is extremely uncomfortable, but they are my call. The more tangible God becomes to me the easier it is to accept the changes.

Prayer:

It is hard to pray what is on my heart this morning. I'm scared. I sense a desire for You to create a God storm in my life. I want my relationship with You to be more than something I did when I prayed a prayer of salvation. I want my walk with You to be a storm of movement towards You. I want my life to be noticeably different because of You. At the same time, I am terrified of what that means.

All that said I ask You to create a God storm in my life. Radically alter my path. Help me to pursue the upward movement of the Spirit in my life as one would pursue promises of worldly fortune. Give me a sense of urgency about things that are of You. Intensify the vertical movements between us. I am trusting You to hold me close during the instability and by faith I trust that I will find the same joy and peace Paul did as he experienced the fabric of his life changing.