Inner Directed versus Outer Determined (Grace Revealed)

It occurred to me this morning while I was reading a devotional by John Piper that the Grace offered through Jesus Christ is actual POWER and not just pardon. Even though God's grace is served up freely to us, we still have our part to play. There is effort involved in living out a righteous life, but it doesn't come from our own strength, it comes from the inner strength the God provides.  By faith alone we are redeemed; but others need to see us walk this out and produce the fruit of a Christian. This is our division of labor. This message really hit home for me this morning, and I am hopeful that those reading this can draw upon instances in their own lives where this may be prevalent. 

Most of my adult life I have been outer determined. Determined to succeed, determined to make money, determined to have nice things, and determined to prove to everyone that I was something special. The pressures of this world are plentiful, and many of the components tied to "worldly" success just flat out miss the mark. As a recovering addict, success in the eyes of the world was dangerous ground for me to walk on, as I'm sure many of you can relate. For me, many of my addictions, were addictions that the "world" applauds. Work, money, possessions, and other addictions that many people don't even realize that they have are so closely correlated to worldly success. But the truth is that God doesn't call us to be successful, he calls us to be faithful. For much is given, much is required. No, that's not from Spiderman, it's from the Bible. We are all given special gifts and talents by God to use in this life. However, when we get caught up in being outer determined to succeed, we tend to lose sight of what is really important. We use our talents to gain things, and each day we wake up and immediately we try and figure out how we are going to "get" what we want that day. Again, this is dangerous ground. If we are not careful, our quest to gain can cause us to lose ourselves; something I have first-hand experience with during my many years of addiction. There is a song by Toby Mac entitled "Lose My Soul", and the main line goes something like this "I don't want to gain the whole world and lose my soul".  This can be a trap that is hard to avoid when we constantly “strive” to achieve as opposed to living faithfully and letting things unfold in a manner conducive to God’s plan for our lives.

It has also occurred to me that the habits and compulsions that are developed through striving to get what we want are directly connected to the destruction in our families and in our relationships.  Typically, they form because we are always trying to prove that we are “good enough” and they tend to linger from some sort of pain and/or insecurities from our past.  Issues that we haven’t dealt with that can sometimes manifest in these so-called “positive” addictions.  The issue is that most people cannot and will not change until they are faced with some type of devastating circumstances; and that just doesn’t happen to most people.  Therefore, people just don’t get help and continue on this devastating path; learning to overcome the pain by adding more addictions.  I’ve seen this first hard, and I thank God each day that He led me to a place where I had no choice but to look up at Him. 

This is yet another way that the Grace of God reveals itself; and I now have a crystal clear view of how and why these addictions appeared in my life and why I was unable to shake them.  However, through inner direction derived from this awesome GRACE, I have been redeemed and set free.  Take a dive in and see for yourself.  Perhaps, my poem below can jar something loose that will help you take the next step. 

God Bless You ALL……Tony

Grace

 We hear the word, but how many truly know what it means?

Grace, it sounds so regal, how do WE get that; when our lives fall apart at the seams;

 

It must be for the spiritual people who live life the right way; don't you see?

After all, I'm a sinner; caught up in a spider web personally weaved by me;

 

All my years of inauthentic living; selfishly feeding my worldly flesh

But somehow God still seeks me; His ultimate desire is to mesh;

 

His unconditional love and my acceptance; could this really be true?

That I still have a chance at a fulfilling life; no longer sad, lonely, and blue;

 

And the Joy that comes from God's Amazing Grace sets it; how sweet the sound

That saved a wretch like me, and you, and him, and her...yes...even her;

His mercy knows no bounds;

 

Grace comes in the form of favor that can't be earned and we don't deserve

But asking God to come in your heart and lead your life is all it takes to be born again and to reserve;

 

Your spot in Heaven; yes, that's right; that means life eternal

Once you decide this path, peace enters your heart, directly from your paternal;

 

Creator that sent His only son so we can have this so called elusive   Grace

We can ALL have it; our tree starts bearing good fruit; and we are back in the race

 

To the end; now sanctified by the Holy Spirit; How cool is that?

Now we must walk in out, it’s not easy, but we are now able to combat

 

The enemy, who will elevate his desire to bring us down once again

But our God will protect us, He will give us armor; He knows how it all began;

He also knows where it ends, and if we trust His word and His love in every case

Our lives will be enhanced while we are here; because our hearts will be covered with Grace