Hello, God? I Made a Law Again

This is the story about how I made a law of a gift God gave me.

When I was first born again, I told God that my story was His to use, in any way He wanted to use it. I gave Martha blanket permission to use the details of my testimony whenever she wanted and to whomever needed to hear it. When I did that, I rather assumed that it was my past that I was giving away. It is very unwise to make assumptions with God! (That should go without saying, but I doubt I’m the only fool who does it.) God wants my whole story, including my present. He let me know that when He first gave John a vision for Get Along With God.

God gave me a huge gift when He called me to write for this blog. And at some point in the last few months, I made a law of that gift.

I Made a Law and Killed the Joy

When I look back on this blog, I’m reminded of all the things I’ve discovered about God. I can see how full He’s filled my life with Himself, how many adventures He’s taken me on, and how faithful He’s been in His sanctification of me. It’s a privilege to share my testimony of the Lord in a near-daily way. I even have a record of it all! But I made a law of that privilege which began strangling the life and joy out of the whole process. What had been fun became duty and obligation until I hated the very thought of writing anything. I ask each one of you reading this to forgive me for that.

What is so humbling about all of this is the God I’ve met in this mess of mine. Even as each successive post became harder and harder to write, God’s grace never left me. Just as He promised it wouldn’t. “If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there” (Ps. 139:8). That’s the wonder of who our Father truly is. When we spiral down, He’s right there, waiting to carry us out of the hole we dug and then jumped into with both feet.

There’s another part to this story, a creepy bit about curses and causes, but I’ll get to that tomorrow. For now, I want you all to know how grateful I am for the love and encouragement you’ve given me over the years. I am blessed beyond the telling of it in the life God’s given me, and you’re all a truly delightful part of it!