I was up long before the sun this morning. It’s not particularly unusual for me to wake early which is ironic because I’m not exactly a morning person. At all. I never have been, but I need the quiet early morning hours . . . the time before anyone else is up and moving . . . before everything gets going to read and pray and seek Him. To talk to my Savior about all the things.
As I’ve said before, it’s not a daily thing. Sometimes my “quiet” time is more like reading my devotional while shoveling food in my mouth and getting the kids’ lunches and snacks and backpacks packed. Sometimes my prayers are prayed while doing laundry or dropping off and picking up and running errands. And I fully believe God is there for that. But sometimes . . . more and more as I get older . . . it looks like a 4:00 a.m. wake up call . . . a cup of coffee . . . my bible and my prayer list.
Sometimes I wake up and my heart is heavy for those I know are hurting.
Sometimes it’s burdened for the people I love the most. For them to know Jesus more deeply . . . to know His heart and His love and His transforming grace more and more.
Sometimes the wake up call is for those I’ve never met face to face but still, find myself heavily burdened for the hurt and pain their hearts carry.
Sometimes it looks like conviction regarding my own thoughts . . . my own words . . . my own actions . . . and in that moment it also looks like grace. The grace that says I don’t have to be enough because He is. And He’s the one that will make me better. He’s the one that makes me good. He’s the one that makes me righteous.
Most days, it’s a little of all of these things.
33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for a tree is known by its fruit. 34 Brood of vipers! How can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. 35 A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things. 36 But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.” Matthew 12:33-37 NKJV
This morning I read these words from Matthew, and I wondered . . . I wondered about the my own fruit. I wondered about its goodness or maybe, at times, its “badness”. In Romans 7 Paul talks about not doing what he wants . . . not understanding why he does the things he does. And I think there are times we can all relate to that.
These words above aren’t the easiest words. But they are the words of Jesus. And they’re a testament to the fact that what we say and what we do matter. Christians love to throw around grace, sometimes as a justification for their actions. But here’s the thing, what I say is important. What I do carries weight. And you know what? I’m so thankful for the grace of God because I mess up way more than I should. Because a lot of days I’m a lot like Paul, wondering why I do and say the things I do. But here’s the other thing, it’s the grace of God that transforms my heart. It’s His grace and mercy that equips me to do what is right. It’s only through Christ that I’m righteous. It’s only because of Him that my fruit is good. And that makes me want to do better.
So here I am. Up early as the sky starts to lighten. And not really sure how to wrap this up other than to say, there is nothing more important today than seeking the face of Jesus. There is nothing you can chase or do or not do that will bring more peace, more joy, more contentment than Him.
Have a wonderful Monday and a blessed week y’all! I’m off to pack lunches.
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Courtney's Contemplations . . . 