Breathe

"The truths of eternity have an infinite power.  They are often powerless because we do not give them time to reveal themselves." ( Andrew Murray's Daily Experience with God)

They reveal themselves in the quiet of the early morning hour.  "The Word that we get from the mouth of God brings the power to know and do it." (A.M.)

"Self control"  has been the word this week...for food, money, mouth, schedule.  It was affirmed by a casual reading of The Week (an app of world news for the day) which I never read but read yesterday...which had an article on... you guessed it...self control.  

"Plan" surfaced as well.  A plan is a detailed formulation of a program of action.

Plan is all through scriptures...so often in relation to God.  "I know the plans I have for you..."  "the plans of The Lord stand firm forever..."

Revelation 9:15..."And the four angels who had been prepared for this hour and day and month and year were turned loose to kill one third of the people on earth, leading an army of 200  million."  How detailed is that.

...or the orbits of planets, or body chemistry or the formation of babies in wombs.  God is an incredibly detailed architect.

Then...I'm reading The Grace Awakening.

How  do grace and self control and plan fit together.  

At issue is not making a plan that I will stick to so I exhibit self control.  I've tried that countless times with every area of life.   At issue, God said this morning,  is if I am filled with the Spirit.

So I have a little plan.  But the message to me when faced with whatever usually kills my self control is not the plan and me doing the plan, it is who is filling my heart and mind.   Me or the Holy Spirit.  That's the question.

Because if the Holy Spirit is filling me and "me" is no longer in the mix, He is not compromised by me or my will.  He is free to work.

That...is grace....that He would work in someone like me.

God's words, revealed in the early morning hour, are  from the mouth of God.  Accompanying them is the power to know and do them....so says Andrew Murray.  And that is a true statement.

Return to Me.  Breathe.  

Breathe "me" out...so the Holy Spirit can expand to fill my whole heart.