You never want to jeopardize your closeness with the Lord. And that’s why it’s wise to ask him to keep you and fight for you.
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SHAUNA: Hi, this is Shauna on Joni Eareckson Tada: Sharing Hope. Today Joni has a great message for us about, well, about seeing red!
JONI: Last fall, I took one of those strength assessment tests alongside my coworkers at Joni and Friends. It’s the kind of test where you learn if you are a support person [and on the scale, those people are colored blue] or a detail person [that’s green] or an assertive person [that’s red]. Well, my husband Ken and I work with six other women in our department, and everybody was mostly a support person colored blue. I was the only one who came out red. But don’t jump to conclusions, red on this assessment test means many good things. But it also means a few not-so-nice things about who I am as a person. Like some of that assertiveness can come across as aggressiveness. I also can be very stiff-necked and very stubborn.
I thought about that test recently after I committed a stubborn, willful sin [now I’m not going to go into details here] but I knew what I was doing when I resisted the Spirit’s caution. But guess what? I did not care. The “red” in me was coming through, and I knew I was being stubborn. It was one of those “it’s my way or the highway” sort of things, you know what I mean? Well, about two or three days afterward, I sensed the distinct withdrawal of the Holy Spirit’s power in my life. And it felt awful! It wasn’t until I cried out to God while reading Psalm 51, “[O Lord,] take not your Holy Spirit from me” that I sensed his nearness and approval again. And for me it was an even better lesson than taking that strength assessment test!
In fact, I looked at all the bad aspects of my “red” character on those test results and I prayed earnestly, “Oh Jesus, keep me from becoming like that; willful, stubborn, and aggressive.” In short, keep me from falling back into my natural self. The things of the flesh war against the things of the spirit, and I want the Holy Spirit to do war on my behalf. I want him to keep me from being led astray. And friend listening, I want you to join me in asking God to keep you from disobeying when the shorter, easier route is tempting. Keep us in our youth when our passions are strong; oh Father, keep us in old age when we think we know it all; oh Jesus, keep us in the valley when we’re prone to complain. God, keep us from hogging the spotlight and failing to give credit where credit is due. Lord Jesus, keep us from constantly talking about ourselves, and keep us focused on the needs of others, rather than our own. Keep us from nagging, scolding, chiding and manipulating. Keep us from fudging the truth. Keep me from stubborn, willful, stiff-necked behavior. In short, oh Jesus, keep me from overdoing the “red” parts of who I am!
The nearness of the Holy Spirit is a very precious thing. You don’t want to risk, oh friend, you don’t want to jeopardize that closeness with him. And it’s why it is wise to ask him to keep you; to fight for you. And Jude 23-25 says it best: “To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence; to the only God our Savior be glory, and majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Did you catch that? God is able to keep us from falling, falling back into the default mode that is our old nature. So today, please, ask the Holy Spirit to keep your heart pure, your spirit bright, and your conscience clean. Ask him to keep you from falling, because no sin, no transgression is worth risking the nearness and the closeness of the Spirit of Jesus.
© Joni and Friends