Grace Awakenings. . .

We often waste precious time pursuing the wrong things.

But don't take this as condemnation. I've probably wasted more time over the years than anyone, trying to stuff my achy heart with selfish desires, hobbies, entertainment, TV, books, and various other routes of escape from boredom, fear, and deep-rooted pain. At times I felt hyper-anxious for no good reason. A psychologist called this generalized or free-floating anxiety. "For this we have Xanax," he said. So I tried it. Not much changed.

And yet - something fascinating - God began to open my eyes to His grace at work in me. He revealed my trivial pursuits as a cover-up for the pain I'd buried. This was one way I kept the Lord at arm's length. But the more I busied myself, the more I came undone. The more I came undone, the more I realized the growing fear inside me. . . that maybe God wasn't enough for all my needs. Let me tell you, Xanax can't take away that fear.

Since those days, God has shown Himself to be more than enough in my life, even the times my feelings contradict the truth. More and more I'm becoming occupied with Him.

But last night I read something that really bothered me. In a rather snarly article, a Christian author tried to take me on a guilt trip. He called us all lazy Christians, refusing to further the Kingdom of God by sitting on our rumps and whining about our needs. He said that God needs us, but that few ever commit to actually doing the will of God. At that point, I grieved for all the people that would read this shame-based message, because truly, the Lord never uses these kinds of tactics.

1. God doesn't need us. We need Him.

2. Jesus came to set us free from guilt and shame - not goad us with it.

It's not about getting off our rumps to do His will. So many articles and sermons emphasize what we need to do, rather than what God wants to do in and through us. The article in question said nothing about God's real calling on our lives - to abide in Him. Without Him, we can do nothing, the bible says, because it's not by might, nor by power, but by His Spirit.

Our life in Christ is about surrender. When we're consumed with Him, we can't help but do His will, because His Spirit is always leading and enabling. He fuels the work of our hands.

3. The Lord is absolutely concerned with our needs.

Why pretend we don't have needs? Why feel bad about them? God knows and sees! He fully intends to fill these innermost needs through Christ, enabling us to make right and healthy choices as we drink of Him. When we abide through His Word, He leads us in life, ministry, and relationships. The Christian life isn't about commitment or willpower, but grace.

I've noticed in my own life, over time, a gradual turning away from the things that used to interfere with Him. There's something mysterious and hard to explain about His promptings that draw me to Himself, again and again.

Grace. The doctors can't prescribe it; the pharmaceutical companies can't manufacture it. No, but for this we have Jesus.

There will come a time in each of our lives when He's all we've got. When the time comes, I hope you know. . . He's all you need. Let grace be grace.