EXPAND TO READ: 2 CORINTHIANS 7 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 5): I have lived a life of fear in my heart for a long time. I have lived in fear of what others think of me; I have lived in fear of failure; I have lived in fear of disappointing others; I have lived in fear of being disappointed. I have lived in fear of so many things and in so many ways. This fear has not been a healthy fear, nor a righteous fear. This fear has been 100% worldly and from the flesh. This fear has been a reflection of my lack of full trust and full dependency on You, Father. Please forgive me for these transgressions. Help me to be better in my spiritual walk both internally and externally, so that I may no longer live in this worldly fear.
PROMISE (verse 6): This is such a powerful promise that I have, unfortunately, not fully accepted in my life due to my own personal struggles. I do struggle with being humble at times, but You promise us that You provide comfort to the humble. I suppose this is why the need for my sin confession about fear. Since I do not truly live a humble life, I have worldly fear built up inside of me instead of Godly comfort. Help me to be better at being humble, Father, so that I may truly embrace and live in the comfort that only You can provide to my life.
ATTITUDE (verse 10): Grief is a sore topic of discussion for me, but I guess that’s because I have been living with an attitude of worldly grief and not Godly grief. In this verse, You tell us that worldly grief produces death, but Godly grief produces a repentance that we should never regret as it leads to our salvation. Thank You for blessing us with the attitude and spirit of grief, Father. Help me to rehome and refocus my grief into a Godly grief instead of the worldly grief I’ve been plagued with for so long. Help me to live in an attitude that accepts the grief You give me as a blessing for my salvation, instead of a regret that will surely lead to the death of a part of me.
COMMAND (verse 1): I see You’re giving me a command to follow right at the start of today’s quiet time, Father. This command is one that I have struggled with since coming to faith, probably because of my personal control issues. You tell us to “cleanse ourselves from every impurity of the flesh and spirit.” This is for our sanctification in the fear of God. The reason I have struggled with control so much is because I feel I can do all of this on my own and do not need Your intervention to become better. This has been proven wrong many times in my life. I need You in my life to truly be cleansed and sanctified. I need to stop trying to control things myself in all aspects. Help me to be better at releasing things to You, Father, so that I may truly live a sanctified life.
EXAMPLE (verses 5-7): Every now and then, You’ll put someone in our lives to help redirect us back into Your will or to teach us a righteous lesson. You did this with Titus. They were living in heavy conflict externally, but also living in fear internally. When Titus arrived, they received comfort not through him, but because of the comfort that he himself received from You. This comfort overflowed to those around him, allowing them to get a taste of the comfort only You can provide. Due to the control issues I mentioned above as well as my selfishness, I have often not truly seen You in those You have brought into my life until after the fact or until it’s too late. I have lived a very defensive and distrusting life, unfortunately. Help me to be better at recognizing when You put people in my life, Father. Help me to have better righteous discernment, so that when You do put people in my life not only will I start to recognize that, but I’ll also begin to learn and understand their purpose, gift, and blessings from You so that I may truly accept what they are bringing to my table.
*DAILY NOTE: Control, selfishness, trust, worldly living, fleshly living…these are just a few of the topics I struggle with that You spoke to me about today in this scripture. Thank You for the clarity on these topics, Father, but also thank You for the grace You’ve shown to me through my struggles. I have not been the perfect follower by any stretch of the imagination, but You have always been the perfect Father, Mentor, Counselor, and Teacher to me always. I am undeserving, yet eternally grateful of the grace You have shown to me throughout the years. Thank You for everything and I hope and pray that I will continue to allow You to mold me into the man that You’ve always seen in me, even though I struggle to see that man in myself at times.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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