I’ve written about the beautiful summer I’ve been enjoying, but I confess the past few weeks have been more difficult. I could list this reason or that why my heart has been weary, but instead I’d like to tell you how I’ve been inviting Jesus into the situations I’m facing.
We usually think of phrases like “inviting Jesus into my heart” as having to do with salvation, and that’s not incorrect. Jesus Himself uses the imagery of knocking on a door to get our attention. But even though I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior when I was a child and the Holy Spirit lives in me, I’m trying to be more purposeful now about looking to Him for specific, individual situations that cause my heart pain.
“Lord, I invite You to be with me in _________.”
Sometimes it’s in my anxiety. I know Jesus can calm my fears and cast away doubts, and even though we live in a fallen world where anxiety can be a physical problem, asking Jesus to join me in it makes a difference.
Recently I asked Jesus to come into a situation weighing on my mind, and He told me He couldn’t because it was a place where I was hiding a sin. I’d thought I’d hidden it well, but He sees everything. I took care of it that day, and the weight eased because I made it right with God and the other person involved.
Asking Jesus to enter into something with me doesn’t mean everything magically becomes better. There are still tears and feelings of being overwhelmed at times. But choosing to invite Him in and picturing myself curled in my Father’s arms for a long conversation has made a difference in how I approach the hardship. It’s me acknowledging that I don’t want to face it on my own, that I want to lean into His understanding.
It can be easy to believe I can handle things in my own strength, but I know that’s a lie. I need Him. And He is always faithful. If you’re facing a time of pain or uncertainty in your life, I encourage you to consider specifically asking Jesus to join you in it. May He shepherd you into a greater knowledge of the passionate love He has for you, and help you know that you are seen and not forgotten.
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Image by JackieLou DL from Pixabay
Your thoughts remind me of a book given to me the week I accepted Christ personally into my heart. Actually it’s a very small book “My heart, Christ Home. It has stuck with me all these years. How Christ goes with us to every room of our heart and we cannot hide. We think our goodness can hide the sins that we call petty. We stick them under the pretty painted walls of our heart, things like bitterness, bad attitudes , grumbling. Your words were honest and challenged me as well to clean more often the cluttered pile of molded sin. Thanks for sharing your heart. God speed as you travel and sure praying the judges see what a great heart is behind your writings.
Thank you so much for sharing and for praying, Nicki! I appreciate you!
Hi Erin, its sort of like practicing the presence of Jesus, he goes into the fires of life with us if we let him, it’s in his Character to long to help us to glorify Himself in every situation of our lives, miss seeing you on Sundays and Wednesdays but God gave us a season together and it will always be a special memory to me.
Thanks, Sandy! You bring up a great point. I miss seeing you too!