911....what's your emergency?

When you are in an emergency which requires immediate safety/medical attention, one of two things happen.  You make an emergency call or a witness makes it for you.  Without the help of an emergency crew, the situation could be fatal.
In our lives we have our very own witness who is on duty 24/7.  His name is the Holy Spirit.  He makes the call and he provides the help.  The problem is we don't always accept the help.  He sees that a situation, an action, a decision that needs immediate attention or it could be fatal and yet we refuse service.  The lights are going off, the sirens are loud, everything about it feels not right, and yet we continue forward in awareness of possible fatality.

It 's called conviction.   I'm sure if I would have named this post "conviction", I would have less readers.  No one likes conviction.  In reality, conviction is the sign of great spiritual maturity.  It shows that anything that is not of God is not welcome in your life.  It grows and strengthens you.  Which is real threat for the enemy. 

 I'm certain the prince of this world has his own crew of "pride" that makes sure conviction sees no victory.  It has been a battle since the beginning of time.  From the fallen angel who felt no conviction to Adam and Eve in the garden who understood conviction a little too late.  You can read throughout God's word of situations where conviction was heeded and where it was not.  The result was either change for the better or disaster turning into fatality (physical or spiritual).

We see a perfect example of this in Psalm 51 when Nathan approaches David about his decisions.  David could have easily been so angry with Nathan that he have him killed.  He could have made Nathan his enemy for brining something up that was none of his business.  He could have asked Nathan to leave the kingdom and not ever come back.  But he didn't!  He repented. The Holy Spirit knew it was an emergency and needed David to repent and move forward !

The entire chapter is the most beautiful psalm of repentance.  One I would encourage to be a part of your daily reading.  A good gut check if you will.  I will highlight a few verses for the sake of this post:
Verse 10-13
"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.  Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take away your Holy Spirit from me.  Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you. 

This is a person heeding conviction and begging God to renew and move him forward in God.
No it doesn't feel good....it's the worst feeling.  It's much easier to blame others, find an avenue to justify, or simply ignore.....yes, that's easier, but not productive.  It's miserable.  It's heavy.  It's immobilizing us from moving forward and receiving Gods personal best.  Any sin in our life separates us from God.  It stops us from moving into God's blessing and favor.  That is why repentance is a must!  I love at the end of the chapter that it says "the sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart- these o God, you will not despise."

To know He is waiting to welcome my repentful heart rather than shake his head at me with shame....makes the process not so terrifying. Make it a habit to have God search your heart everyday.  There could be something hidden under rubble that He's just waiting on you to see it and look to Him.

I'm listening Lord!
The Mrs. Pastor