Where the Rubber Hits the Road

Do you ever feel like God has to teach you the same lesson over and over?  This seems to be the story of my life.  God wants to transform my heart, but it’s not an easy process, and sometimes I think my heart makes for some pretty tough clay in the Potter’s hands. 

This afternoon God handed me another challenge, really, another opportunity to learn a lesson in giving up my rights to things that aren’t ever owed to me in the first place.  This has been something God has been having me walk through again and again, yet somehow I never seem to get it.  So now the Lord has asked me to deal with some difficult circumstances that I’d much rather avoid.  At first I was angry, but then I heard God’s still small voice saying that he has a lot to teach me through this.  He wants to teach me how to be a servant even when it’s inconvenient and uncomfortable.  He wants me to learn how to love without condition, and how to truly walk in His strength. 

It occurred to me that it’s so easy to talk a big game about how Jesus has changed my life, but if I don’t live it out, what’s the point?  Who cares what I say if my life doesn’t reflect the change?  The most difficult thing about following Christ is living life where the rubber hits the road; where life gets tough and the people get messy.  But isn’t that what being salt and light to the world means?  This is the very reason we’re not whisked away to eternal glory in heaven the moment we become followers of Jesus; God wants us to be the hands and feet of Christ to everyone.  He wants to show the world his power and glory through us… if we’d only let Him. 

So here I am hearing God speaking all these things to my heart and I can do nothing but throw my hands up in surrender and say, “Go for it Lord.”  I really do want God to transform my heart; I want to be more like my Savior I’ve given my life to.  But that transformation doesn’t come easily.  Actually, it’s usually pretty painful, but in the end the glory God gets from it all makes it well worth the struggle.