It Is What It Is
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Micah 6:8
He has showed you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?
Wow! That’s all I can say as I realize that yet again (or still) God is refining and shaping me to be more like Him. Not too terribly long ago I shared that I had “one last stronghold” that I was struggling with. I indicated I was having a difficult time turning over that last stronghold to God. Well, that was a pretty arrogant statement looking back on it. I’m not saying that to beat myself up, but to share a caution. I have many, many more strongholds. I hang on to each of them as if they were my lifeblood. I don’t think of them as strongholds because they are so ingrained in my psyche that they have come to define who I am.
That doesn’t mean I have to stay “who I am!” But it does require something that doesn’t come easily to me: humility. I’m not talking about the self-effacing humility when I’m complimented on a skill or ability, or some success defined by worldly standards. I’m talking about deep, complete and absolute recognition of myself as a flawed, broken and imperfect being.
Wikipedia offers: ‘Humility is defined as: "A quality by which a person considering his own defects has a humble opinion of himself and willingly submits himself to God and to others for God's sake."’
The new awareness has come about through a trial I have been experiencing – and not moving through with much grace, admittedly! I am my own worse enemy when situations arise over which I have no control, meaning I don’t get the result I think I should get from others. Okay, I have a major problem with control. There, I’ve said it! Notice the prevalence of “I” thus far in this paragraph. That’s the problem. That’s the stumbling block. That’s the stronghold—my ego.
My will,
my desires,
my way or the highway is the attitude that causes me so much stress.
My husband has been dealing with a difficult situation as well. He, however, has been a model of grace for me throughout the past several months. He has been lovingly admonishing me, “It is what it is.” Then yesterday on the way to work I was stopped at a red light behind a car that clearly revealed the attitude of the driver. Most of the sentiments were not very Christian, but two really hit me square between the eyes. The first said something like, “Stop complaining, start a revolution.” The other one I have no exact recollection of but I remember thinking it was similar to, “it is what it is.”
"Thank you, God. I get it God. I praise you God. Please, please, please keep working in me. I have so many strongholds that I cannot even list them all." That’s what ran through my mind as I waited for the light to change. God’s grace is so complete and so vast and his love is so deep and wide that we have hope we will one day be perfected. That perfection will not be of our own will. It will not be our own efforts, desires or through any act or deed of our own. That perfection will be realized in heaven.
My prayer today is that you peel off the multiple layers of strongholds in your life. And that you humbly submit to God every molecule of our body, every thought of your mind, and every aspect of your life.
Mary
