Resolution - God's Love at Work - Week of March 12

Resolution

By Margaret D. Mitchell
Week of March 12, 2023

Resolution can mean “a decision or determination” or mental “firmness of purpose” (Dictionary.com).

Resolution puts change into action. It’s the foundation for defining moments. It’s part of revolution, which can be a result (fruit) of a great awakening.

Recently, my husband and I went to see the movie Jesus Revolution.

I found it to be a good illustration of getting unstuck from ruts and growing up and out in our Lord.

Coming up higher means surrendering our ways and living out His. We have to find resolve to grow, and this requires humility, courage, fresh insight and obedience.

Un-resolve holds us back. It's a prison of arrogance and is derived from our flesh, fueled by the enemy of our souls through lies.

Staying stuck in something God is finished with may stop God's move in our lives when we agree with it, but it doesn't stop God's move-at-large.

Now is the time to step more into the new things God has been inviting each of us into. As we go, we will find increasing resolve. It’s a process.

When I consider the main characters in the movie, each found a path of resolve. Each found their unique role and processed beyond their limitations as they walked with Jesus. Much of the time, they were able to work together as they worked it out. But even when they didn’t, they circled back around.

They purposed to overcome where they were to help others overcome.

Acting out of anything less than faith is not an option. Holy scripture assures us we cannot lose when God is in it and we obey Him.

Hebrews 13:6 asks us, “What can man do to me?”

So, we must move as Holy Spirit moves and follow where He leads. We must hear from Him and speak what He says to speak.

One of my favorite lines from the movie is, "Don't be so arrogant to think that God can't work through your failures."

So, we see, even in this, that shame is not an option. We must rise above it and let God shine through our mistakes. We already know His grace is strongest when we are weakest and that He uses the foolish things to confound the wise.

There isn't one among us who hasn't sinned and fallen short of His grace. So, we're in good company. And anyone who rises in arrogance and judges us will be judged by God. So, who cares what they think of us? Ultimately, it’s not about us. It’s about God and what He does in, through and for us.

Yes, we can expect some former "friends" to fall away. We can let them fall, pray for them and be on our way. So, what if they didn’t get their way. God's way is the only way that matters. All must align or fall into a pit of their own making. When people are ready to rise and align with God, they will.

Old wine skins are not an option either. This movie is a good portrayal of a new wine skin that looked nothing like anyone expected. God’s glory will surpass limited old establishments that will prove to be the stumbling blocks in their defining moments. We must decide whose side we're on and move in that direction.

So, do we care about the next generation to meet them in new ways, right where they are? Jesus does. What excuse do we have to say, "No"?

"None," says The Lord of Hosts.

So, in the process of stepping into the new, we’ll be humbled; and we must firmly decide to keep going in the right direction. It's about serving others as Jesus did. And as we go and serve them, Jesus serves us.

We’ll need His counsel and wisdom. We’ll need His Presence to break through strongholds and minister sufficiently to those seeking something better than what they've known—fresh resolve that comes only by God.

What resolve must you come into to step up? Where are you looking to find revolve? There’s only one true way to break through. It’s Jesus, who embodies the grace-power to make all things new.

Holy Spirit, can take us where we could never go on our own or with any other human. He is bigger than our problems and higher than even drugs can take us. He is larger than pre-formed establishments and greater than our best vision. He is above our own finite knowledge and the only One powerful enough to make our dreams come true.

He alone can get us where He knows we need to be to do, through us, what only He can.

So, pray with me, if you will . . .

Dear Lord,

Thank You for the invitation to set me free and to be a part of something greater than myself. Something that honors You. Please help me to receive Your invitation, lean into You in the messy middle and grow in You as I go with You to help others. Help me to be committed, to humble myself and to step into the new You have for me.

In Jesus’ Mighty Name,

Amen.

Margaret D. Mitchell is the Founder of God's Love at Work, a marketplace outreach purposed to share God's greatest power source - the love of Christ.