When I'm With You

"Praise the Lord! Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever."

Psalms 106:1
 

Studying Romans chapter 8, I am reminded of something Roy Croft once wrote, "I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you." Like the apostle Paul, anyone who has walked with Jesus, who has truly encountered the grace of God in their life feels the exact same way. God not only brings out the best in us, He first places His best within us. You see, friend, it was Jesus who said, "apart from Me you can do nothing" and the nothing He was referring is our ability to do anything good that could stand the test of eternity. Remember, it was Isaiah who wrote, "But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; we all fade as a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." (Isaiah 64:6)

The following quote came from a journal entry of a follower of Christ whose life had been transformed by the grace of God and whose eyes were wide open to what their life was before receiving Christ as well as after. “My heart is overtaken, my soul is overwhelmed, the worst of me is succeeded by the Best of YOU!" That's what the apostle Paul experienced and it’s what happens when we encounter Jesus in our lives and we give Him the reigns and He takes control. He leads us to places alone we could never find, and when we get there we are never the same again.

You see loved one, God’s ways are high above our ways and though this life is full of its twists and turns, situations that at the time make no sense to us they do to God. As a child of God we learn He uses every situation and every circumstance, because His Word declares, “all things to work together for good to them that love God and are called according to His purposes.” It's true, Jesus never wastes our hurts or our hang ups to conform us into His image. It's an amazing thing to be able to go through life's greatest challenges and tragedies and come out on the other side able to say, "If I hadn't gone through all of THAT, then I couldn't have become THIS." "This" being a reference to becoming a child of God, very much aware of God's presence in your life as He shapes and refines you into a reflection of Him who loved you and gave Himself for you.

As you seek the Lord today may the words of Roy Croft become your own as you appreciate what the Lord not only has done for you but for what He is accomplishing in you today!  May your heart declare, “because of You, I love You, not only for who You are, but for who I am when I’m with You."


"For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness."

Psalms 84:10

I LOVE YOU!

Michael Osthimer

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