Quite a few people messaged me in response to my last post, asking me if I was okay, offering help and encouragement. I just wanted to say thanks, and if anything, please just pray that God would continue lifting me up in the way He has since writing the post! I’ve had such an amazing few days since I wrote it, and God has really been pulling me through. However, since writing it I’ve been reminded of a post I’ve had in mind to write for quite a while, and I feel now more than ever is the time to write it. It’s kind of a part two to my first post, so if you haven’t read it yet please do.
Today I’ll be talking about my salvation – and specifically within this, sanctification.
What is it? Are there different displays (of salvation)? How can I know it’s happening? This won’t really be an expository post, more personal like the previous one, but I hope that through what I’ve learnt from the past year or so, I’ll be able to help with these questions somewhat, and leave the juicy bible expositions for another post!
You see, I’ve always looked up to people who have had that sudden “Wow!” conversion, with the amazing testimony of how this and that instantly changed, and it never was the same. You know, the type that has people in tears of laughter, joy, sadness – pretty much any emotion that can make your eyes water mysteriously. However, when evaluating myself, sometimes I really feel that the only person who’d tear up from my story is myself, and anyone else…from boredom.
Why? Well for a start, I have a confession to make, friends…
I don’t know what day I was saved. In fact, I don’t know the month, let alone the exact day!
What I do know however, is that I am, unwaveringly, joyfully, beautifully saved – that is, I wholeheartedly believe, or have faith, that God came as Jesus to die for my sins, that He rose up on the 3rd day, and that through Him I can receive forgiveness for all my sins, and receive the gracious reward of eternal life!
As I mentioned in my previous post, being saved isn’t always things going well, life being perfect, not making mistakes. If at times you had asked me what was going on last year, I honestly would have had to tell you – I didn’t really know. I didn’t understand why it was so difficult. Why I found myself making the same mistakes over and over. In fact, if I’m totally honest, I found myself doubting my faith, and my God.
However, amazingly, God used that year to show me who He is. That He is worthy of my love, my life, my all, and amazingly now despite the fact it was I who was running away from and denying Him (however small I may have believed it was at the time) it is now Him who is beautifully wooing me back to Himself, loving me unconditionally.
And more than all this, the good news is that through all this I was being sanctified! I realised this the other day when having a conversation with a friend, that actually despite my point of view, despite how things looked to me when I was in the fire, I can now see that the fire was my refiner’s fire, and without it I wouldn’t be in the place I am today – the new, fresh confidence and assurance in my salvation and consistent burning desire to know God more, and to love Him, is what I have desired for so long.
So while I cannot look back and say hey – [date] was my day, I can look back and say wow. God has brought me, just like anyone else, from a place of unbelief and cold heartedness, to a place where my heart is so on fire for him, so hungry for his word, so desperate for his guidance!
You see…as we all know, life isn’t black and white. It’s not always quite as simple – in fact there are more than even just two types of Christian Conversion, but I won’t go into them today – but we will look at one of them, and back in Jesus’ time we see a great example of this!
Luke 24:13-35 – The road to Emmaus
See for some of us, we have an “Emmaus Road” conversion. Where we walk with Jesus (Luke 24:15) for so long, foolishly not even having hope in him at times and even commically expressing this to the very many Himself who rose from the dead (Luke 24:19-21), followed by Him gently rebuking us, and then teaching us the right way, and explaining the truth to us, allowing us to understand and believe him in wholly… (Luke 22:25-27)
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at which point we still don’t understand (cue what I’m sure is more eye-rolling from Jesus), then proceed to eat dinner with Him, before finally realise that He was carrying us through the whole time, and understanding where He has brought us to and our faith suddenly sky rocketing, as we see in Luke 24:28-32.
So if like I did, you’ve felt unsure of your position in God’s kingdom, whatever the reason, take it to God, friend. Tarry for yourself, that is, pray eagerly and earnestly wait for Him to come and answer you and do whatever He needs to do to fulfil what He must have already begun in you. And just know, that no matter what you’ve done, or how difficult things are for you, that God still has a plan for you, and all it takes is for you to reach out and grab for the guiding hand of your loving Father in heaven.
