Confess, embrace, and behold Jesus. And you will be transformed into a different, stronger-in-the-faith you tomorrow morning.
Hi, I’m Joni Eareckson Tada and I really, really want to change.
Sometimes, don’t you just get so sick of your sinful self that you want to give yourself a good kick? I mean sometimes I wake up in pain and instantly, I’m peevish or I’m leaning towards a sour attitude. I feel crabbiness and crankiness brewing up in my heart and I just want to pull the covers over my head. But I can’t pull the covers over my head, I’m paralyzed! And I can’t be crabby or cranky because my helper is either brushing my teeth, washing my face, blowing my nose. How dare I be all self-centered and snarky, just because of my aches and pains? She deserves more than that. And this is when I pray, “Oh, God, I am so empty. My heart is barren and dry – how did I get this way so quickly? Yesterday, I was soaring in your Spirit. And this morning? My soul feels so vacant and empty. And right there, I confess my sin, I confess my morbid focus on myself. And I know that as I confess my sin, I know God’s faithful and just not only to forgive me, but to restore me. And so, I ask him, “Holy Spirit, fill me. Fill all the emptiness and restore to me the joy of my salvation.” And then, after I pray, I act on that prayer. I take action. I thank my precious friend for being the gift from God that she is. I thank her for helping me; for brushing my teeth, and washing my face, and blowing my nose, and so much more.
And before long? My heart has changed. I sense God’s joy, Christ’s forgiveness, and the Spirit’s pleasure. And nothing feels sweeter or more refreshing. Truly, the joy of the Lord is when you feel God’s delight in you. It’s so satisfying, that feeling. And before the morning is through, I just have to thank the Holy Spirit for giving me a good kick in the right direction, down the path of righteousness where I should’ve never wandered from in the first place.
And friend, this is how we really change. We are transformed when we stop wallowing in our peevish attitude or stubborn self-centered ways. We are changed when we confess that sin, thank God for his forgiveness, ask for his grace, and then act on that prayer [you have got to act on it], immediately extending grace and healing and help to others around you. It’s how you move forward on the path of righteousness. And, oh, what one of us would ever want to wander away from that path, right? And so, when we sense that sin is getting the upper hand in your heart, you’ve got do something about it right away – and here’s what the Bible tells you to do: gaze upon, look deeply into, and ask to see more of Jesus. Open wide the eyes of your heart to the light of everything you know about your Savior. Marvel at his sacrifice; contemplate the depth of his love, and as you do, you become like him. It’s how we are changed. Just as it says in 2 Corinthians 3:18; it says, “We all, with unveiled faces, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” Don’t you love the feeling of being changed from one degree of glory to the next?
I think about that nearly every morning when I am tempted to be sullen and peevish about my pain and paralysis. I invite the Holy Spirit to kick me in the right direction: “Take the path of righteousness, Joni!” Confess, embrace, and behold Jesus. And you will be changed; you will be transformed; you will be a different, stronger-in-the-faith Joni tomorrow morning. And the same is true for you, my friend. God bless you today and thanks for listening!
© Joni and Friends