Praise the Lord! God gave me the strength to walk up our sidewalk on the steep hill in front of our house! This literal ‘walk of faith’ was possible because of Christ who strengthens me (Phil 4:13). At the end of May I was asked what my goals were by one of the several nurses/therapist’s who were working with me for the weeks following my ‘trach’ operation. I told her I wanted to walk up the hill in front of my house by the end of summer. At this time I was pretty weak and not that stable as she watched me walk 10 feet across my bedroom floor. This therapist was so shocked I would make such a statement that she laughed. When she regained her composure she began at square one to remind me that I had “ALS” and that it is a muscle wasting disease. She went on to explain the different muscle involvement in ascending and descending a hill and that it would not be possible for me to walk up a hill.  I just looked at her and smiled, she had no idea were I place my confidence and that with Christ nothing is impossible (Rom 8:11).

 I think when people see me; they are confronted with the physical manifestations of this disease. They do not see my spirit that is hid in Christ. I always tell my wife that my brace and atrophied body is a disguise or costume I wear but who I really am is underneath the costume and are in my spirit. The Spirit of Christ that lives within me gives my body life and imparts to me the eternal truth of the Word of God. This is how I can be strengthened in the “inner man” affecting my will and what I can believe for. My soul not only expresses my personality but is continually being transformed as I grow in the things of God.

 “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Romans 2:12).

 Even our Savior was not who he appeared to be. Isaiah 53:2b says that “He (Jesus) had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” I always imagined myself following Him if I lived 2000 years ago but according to this verse I probably would have been like everyone else that was not attracted to him because of His appearance. Jesus didn’t want people following him because of the way he looked, nor for his power or influence; he desired that we would be attracted to His Spirit through the Words that He spoke (Jn 6:63). On one occasion, Jesus took three of his disciples up a mountain where he was transformed before them. Jesus wanted to show them who he really was in his Spirit, the part of Him that was veiled or hidden from natural eyes. When Peter, James and John saw Jesus’ Spirit they were terrified! Their human eyes could not handle being in God’s presence because of the intensity of light Jesus was revealing to them (Mk 9:2-6). In the Garden of Gethsemane, when the a band of men and officers from the chief priests came to apprehend Jesus, they said they were looking for Jesus the Nazarene, when Jesus said “I AM” and they all fell backward (Jn 18:6). At that moment they experienced the power and authority of God’s  revealed nature in His  name. If we only knew that the same power of the Spirit of Christ dwells in us, we would be turning the world upside down and doing great exploits for the Gospel of Good News; just as the 1^st century believers did in Acts 17:6!!

 Every believer has the same opportunity today as Peter, James and John did on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Jesus, who is The WORD, is illuminated in our spirit although hidden from our natural eyes eventually becoming evident in the fruit of our spirit which is manifested in our character. We can begin to know that we are alive for a purpose, uniquely designed by a loving God for a relationship with Him. As we grow in our understanding of Who He is and who we are in His plan, we can have confidence before God and man.

 “Who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Tim 1:9).

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 4:34 pm and is filed under Journal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.