Monthly Archives: January 2020

Wiggle Room

DSC_1301By Judy Villanueva

It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. (Galatians 5:1)

I watched my little grand daughter enter the swimming pool with a kind of excitement that spills out of children when they are enveloped in favorite things!  Her smile reached out from the water with a gentle power that seemed to float over and declare the blessed truth that “There is a God and He is fun!” Suddenly, I saw her expression change as her foot left the last step and she could no longer touch the bottom of the pool! I knew her water wings would hold her up but she did not believe this and began to panic. Her body stiffened and what was magical a minute ago was now frightening. “You’re ok,” I assured her, “Your wings will keep you safe. Stay calm. Breathe.” How fast the shift can be from faith to fear, joy to panic — from freedom to the prisons  that confine our hearts and dictate how we live and feel.

Where do you need some wiggle room? What are the places in your life where you feel stuck or confined? It might be an emotional pattern that leads to an outburst or shutdown. It might be a tight place where you find your heart narrowed or cut off from love. Has fear tightened its grip? Has despair closed in?  We can usually put our finger on it by considering the circumstances where we feel hemmed in and without much power to be what we wish — the place where we lack freedom in Christ.

Freedom to trust God, freedom to love, and freedom to act from grace rather than out of the pressured places of worry, fear, and anger.

In moments of truth, how do we find the internal space to NOT DO what we usually do and DO something better instead?  To be someone better, one moment at a time.

I love the story in John 18 where Jesus identifies himself to the soldiers, officials, chief priests, and pharisees who have come to arrest him. They ask, “Are you Jesus of Nazareth?” and when He declares, “I AM He”  they all draw back and fall to the ground!  The reality of Christ is powerful and it is in Him that we find our wiggle room!

The challenge is to notice what has come to arrest our freedom and then to pause and pray for His power and a little space to do and be something better!

I want to live OUT OF the reality of the great I AM, don’t you?  I want to stop in front of the tight places of my life and take a deep breath!  I want to confront confinement and speak truth to my heart. “There is a God and He is mighty!”  I want to trust that His wings will hold me up and give me the courage and power to live free.

“Lord, help me live the reality of the great “I AM”. Thank you for your commitment to my freedom!  Be my strength and courage and wiggle room in the tight places.  Amen.”

What about you?

Where do you need some wiggle room to live differently?

What are the places in your life where you feel stuck or confined?  Where you feel locked into one way of being?

Does fear or worry ever steal your freedom?

What might it be like to live out of the reality of the great “I AM”?

Worship

Act. Love. Walk.

IMG_0409By Judy Villanueva

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6:8)

The most important thing about your life is not what you do;  It’s who you become.  That’s what you will take into eternity.” (D.Willard)

As the year begins there is much talk of resolutions, new beginnings, and chosen words that stir up hope and create a vision for the future.  

Who do you want to be?  How do you want to be?  

The year past has been a blend of satisfied dreams, dreams in process and those dashed on the rocks of disappointment.  Yet, for the Christian whose goal is to grow in holiness there is, alongside every outcome and, in the midst of all the in-between spaces, a DIVINE  hand that faithfully and lovingly shapes who we are becoming.  The pressure is precise, purposed to root out behaviors that deplete and disintegrate us — AND aimed at shaping His image in us. 

There are few places in Scripture that are as specific about God’s will for us as this verse from Micah 6:8.  What does He require of us here, there and everywhere?  To act justly or in other words, to do what is right.  To love mercy!  This is a little tougher.  There is an expression that goes something like this, “Grace for me and justice for you.” We want that second chance and definitely don’t want to be punished for our misdeeds BUT we don’t always want to forgive  those who have hurt us.  

Loving mercy is a pursuit that releases something of divine beauty into our souls.  

Mercy begets mercy and the gift of being forgiven wants to make us merciful people, thankful forgivers!

Lastly, it is required that we walk humbly before our God.  This is a disposition  of mind and  heart!  It is waking up grateful because God has given us breath.  It is praying before each meal, each shower, each experience of goodness because God has provided.  

It is an inner posture of readiness to listen and obey, repent and turn, receive and worship.  

It is living in remembrance of the CROSS and standing before the MAN that we want to look like as we make decisions, put others first, suffer losses, and celebrate victories.  In humility, Jesus walked to Calvary carrying a cross and there, a mighty fusion of justice and mercy occurred where we received OH such amazing GRACE — as the King’s love for mercy acted out justice and died to set us free.

“Thank you, Jesus, for living a life that shows me what it looks like to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly before our God.  Fill me and form me and make me more like you.  Amen.”

What about you?

Who do you want to be?  How do you want to be?

Can you feel the Holy Spirit’s invitation to act justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before your God?

What might that look like today in your thoughts?  Feelings?  Actions?

When was the last time you stood before the cross and looked up?  Take it in, the beautiful love of Christ.

Worship