Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2

 

I woke up to Your forgiveness today

snow covered beyond everything

its whiteness stark against the blue of sky

brilliant white blinding my eyes.

Transformation not always apparent

until snow that has seeped into roots

giving life refreshing water to dirt

brings forth buds and a renewal of worth.

What a wonderful picture you paint, Lord,

of the mercies new just from You

with confession and repentance sincere

I have seen the goodness of Your grace

as I gaze upon a pure white landscape.

 

~Marcie Bridges
©23 July 2019

 

 

I realized something this past Friday as I sat with the other ladies in bible study: renewal of the mind does not happen overnight.

 

We were talking about practicing righteousness. It’s not something we do once and then we are forever righteous. Paul says we must learn to practice right living. It needs to be worked on daily.

 

Jesus calls us to renew our minds. He asks us to become different. We are to walk in Him, in His light, and in His truth. In fact, in Romans we are told to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This is done through the power of the Holy Spirit and our willingness to let Him renew us and transform us.

 

In 1 Timothy 4:7b we are told to train ourselves to be godly.

 

This is a daily spiritual act. We must daily, maybe even hour by hour if need be, submit our hearts and minds to the Lord. He cannot be Lord of our life if we are constantly letting our flesh dictate what we do, what we say, and where we go.

 

 

I am often frustrated with myself because I see no evidence of a mind renewed or a heart transformed. I look at my outward self and think I’ll never be able to be the person I want to be or I even know God wants me to be. But where is that focus? That focus is on me. Not on Him.

 

And while I might not see the changes, God is changing me. Slowly.

 

Dreams are only dreams if there’s never any action taken to fulfill them.

 

A dream fulfilled requires work. It requires intention. It requires planning and executing those plans. Dreams fulfilled require a purpose and motivation. Left without these things, a dream is just a dream.

 

Just like it takes time to fulfill our dreams, the renewal process also takes time. It takes intention, purpose and work with the help of the Holy Spirit.

 

So, while I may not think I have made any progress in my spiritual walk, perhaps I have and I just can’t see it yet. As snow freshly blankets the earth, covering all of its imperfections, when the winter is over, we see the fruits of the snows labor as new flower bulbs push up through the earth. Green grasses make their appearance, and the refreshing of the rain brings cleaner air to breathe.

 

Praise the Lord He doesn’t give up on us. He is continually working to perfect us. To finish what He has started. And we shouldn’t give up on ourselves either.

 

From My Heart to Yours,
Marcie 🙂

 

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