Experiencing the Resurrection

Sick kids. Book reviews pressing in. Laundry piling up. Packing looming ahead. Speaking around the corner. Design gig calling my name. Kitchen floor begging a mopping. Easter baskets to fill. Emails to return. Bills to reconcile. Posts to write. Sick kids needing momma at all hours of the night. Doctor to visit.

Today. Tomorrow. Next week.

My best laid plans are futile. I can schedule, pray about, and orchestrate my time to my heart's content, even building in margin and anticipating the unexpected, but the reality is, I'll never be in control. Why, then, do I continue to believe I am, only to end up frustrated by my inability to finish off the to do list and feel the relief of accomplishing something?

I know the answer. Because I've yet to fully understand and practice what it means to trust the Lord completely with everything in my life, AND my self-worth/identity is still wrapped up in what I do instead of who I am in Christ.

It is time to yield, again, to the lesson at hand and give everything right back to the Lord. The sick kids. The limited time. The responsibilities, big and small. The desires of my heart. Knowing that this is what I must do is so much harder than doing it. I must swallow my pride and let go of expectations. I must trust that God, the Sovereign Lord I truly love will take care of every last detail. I must practice what I preach -- to set my eyes on Jesus, focus on and follow Him throughout my day, casting aside my plans for later and tomorrow. I must be willing to say, I can't do, instead of I can do -- all the while trusting the Lord to do all things, strengthening me in the process. It is the delicate balance between wisdom and belief. It is the "all things are permissible, but not all things are beneficial" see-saw.

One of the tasks on my list is to complete a review of "Experiencing the Resurrection: The Everyday Encounter That Changes Your Life" by Dr. Henry Blackaby and Melvin Blackaby for Multnomah books. I'm about a third of the way in, and truly enjoying the read, yet it keeps finding itself covered by papers on my desk, hidden underneath the folded laundry on the couch, and pushed aside to culddle with a feverish child. Somehow, it's place seems exactly to be what Blackaby is talking about. He writes,

"As a Christ, you're to be a witness for Christ--a visible demonstration of every truth God has said. But the religious culture in which we live encourages us to just practice religious activity. As a result, we misunderstand our relationship with God and miss out on experiencing His power....But, as Christians, we're children of Go! If we're faithful in a little, He can make us rulers over much.

You've been given the opportunity to function in the realm of resurrection power--the most exciting life you could ever imagine. What then could God do in your life if He knew you were wholly yield to Him?" p. 4-5

Blackaby is calling the Christian to yield wholly to God. Yes, that is what I want to do, by trusting the Lord with my schedule and saying "yes" to the unexpected before me. I want to yield to His work instead of my own.

As the celebration of Christ's resurrection approaches, I pray we all will look beyond the Jesus Loves Me, This I Know, for a greater understanding of what it meant for Christ to lay down His life for us -- that through His death, we have the very life we cling to. As I focus on that in my own life, I'm going to lay down things this coming week that are of much worth to me. I'm going to yield to the Lord's work, instead of mine. In the absence of doing the things I consider important and of worth, I hope to reflect on the power of the resurrection and experience its truth on my life.

In my yielding, I will be laying down Extravagant Grace for the next 12 days. I look forward to sharing with you about what I've experienced when I return.

If you would like a copy of "Experiencing the Resurrection," compliments of Multnomah, please leave a comment, with your email, by Monday, March 17th. I will check my email, and pick one commentator at random and have it off to you by Easter.

More About the Book...

What does the resurrection of Christ really mean for us? What does it reveal about the heart and mind of God? And what real differences can the miracle of the resurrection make in your life today?

Discover answers to those and other questions as you examine God’s Word with this companion study guide to the book Experiencing the Resurrection by Henry Blackaby and Melvin Blackaby.

Packed with practical notes, advice, and questions for reflection, this highly interactive
guide—ideal for small group or individual use—shows you how to witness Christ’s resurrection in and through your life. Each chapter of the book is explored in a flexible one-week format with “life change objectives” that arise from applying the truth for each day to your life.

More about the Authors

Dr. Henry Blackaby, president emeritus of Blackaby Ministries, is the author of more than a dozen books, including the best-selling classic Experiencing God. He has spent his life in ministry, serving as a music director and as a senior pastor for churches in California and Canada. Today he provides consultative leadership on prayer for revival and spiritual awakening on a global level. He and his wife make their home in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Melvin Blackaby coauthored with his father, Henry Blackaby, the Gold Medallion winner Experiencing God Together. He travels extensively as a conference speaker. He and his wife and their three children live in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada, where he serves as senior pastor of Bow Valley Baptist Church.

May God's blessing and powerful work be upon you this Easter.