Daily Inspiration - February 24, 2021

Ephesians 2:8-10 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘣𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨; 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘧𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥— 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘭𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘰 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘢𝘴𝘵. 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘦 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘶𝘴, 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.

At the time, my life felt like I was on a ship without a rudder or sail in the midst of an unending storm, going whichever way the waves or the wind would lead me. I had no focus or grounding, no real understanding of who I was or why I was there. I found myself going from one thing to the next looking for happiness; joy; meaning. Time seemed to pass from one unsatisfying event to another. Nothing seemed to feed the hunger that I had. Nothing seemed to help me see myself as worthwhile. I acted as if the very world itself revolved around me, while at the same time, felt that I was of no value; inconsequential.

I now know what drove him. I didn’t then. He saw someone who needed healing; who needed hope. He saw in me someone who needed to be freed from himself in order to truly discover his true identity. At the time I thought it was all silliness, idol talk about an ancient book and an ancient story that meant nothing to me or to our time today. Old people like him, following, always, for no reason at all. I had no idea about the truth. But that didn’t stop him. He still asked, “Would you please come and see?”

Somehow the spirit set it up so I had no way to say “no”. I had to go. So, I went, and in going I discovered that it wasn’t about me; that I was not at the center. It wasn’t about what I could get, but what I could give. It wasn’t about making more, but giving more. It wasn’t about my power, but about the power of Love: God’s love. In this understanding, I was freed. At long last, I was healed. I was made whole, even in my brokenness. “Come and see.” Those words healed me and have made all the difference in the world for me. So I continue to take the walk he took, going beyond myself to say, “Come and see.” In those simple words the Holy Spirit changes the world.

Amen.

Pastor Tim