The "S" Word

This is my life’s lesson. Understanding that: letting go is the evidence that I truly trust. Allowing myself to come under someone else’s word/plan/way because I am not too proud to think I know it all — allowing myself to rest, because that’s what submission allows you to do:

To rest from control, which helps you rest from the fear of the repercussions of your actions.
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Eg: If you come under your boss’s instructions, even while you work hard, the burden of failure is not on your head. If there’s gbese, it’s your boss’s gbese to fix 😂
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Commitment is what allows you to submit — it’s what allows me to submit. It means, even when there really is trouble, I don’t gloat: I take it as my decision & my problem to fix as well, because we’re in it together.

I’ve lived my entire life as a control freak. I didn’t trust authorities because they always hurt me - or made the wrong decisions. So I lived my entire life afraid to make decisions because, what if I mess up as well?
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That’s why the Bible says,

"Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged...” Matt 7:1-2 ESV

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The parents who hurt you didn’t know better. They should have, but they didn’t. The boss who shattered your confidence didn’t know better, either. But when you act like you know better and can do better — and then you mess up? It can cripple your faith, your confidence, your progress.

Here’s how I’m going to practice putting Submission into practice: when I don’t know what to do, beyond praying about it, I’ll look for an authority on that issue around me and yield to their counsel. It doesn’t remove the responsibility from me but it makes me accountable to someone who knows better, so I don’t have to suffer the agony of indecision.
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And it keeps me humble😂
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Above all, I’ll run again & again to God: because when He says something, I don’t have to share the burden of failure with Him. It’s His instruction, mine is to commit and obey. And when it looks like it’s turnioniown lol, God is the One who is in control.
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And when I come under Him, I come into His rest.🙏🏽

Love is the Answer

When it comes to God’s Love, Punishment for sin, & Consequences, here’s what I’m learning:

1) God doesn’t pull away when we do wrong; He pulls us closer.

“Where can I run to get away from you? If I go up to heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell, you are there.” (Ps 139:7-8 GW)

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2) God doesn’t punish us when we sin. Jesus already took all that punishment away.

“He was wounded for our rebellious acts. He was crushed for our sins. He was punished so that we could have peace...” (Isaiah 53:5 GW)

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🤔: So how do consequences work?
😇: Glad you asked:
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3) Growth+maturity:
A child gets driven to school—an adult gets to drive to work. Children can get away with rudeness—adults must use their words carefully. The more we grow in our faith & the more we become like Christ, the more responsible we become. That’s how maturity works.

“... We are being changed into His image with ever-increasing glory.” (2 Cor 3:18 GW)
“Ever-increasing” means, it takes time😓

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4) Sin:
Between receiving Salvation & maturing in God’s image, we often fall short. It’s like learning to walk—we trip & fall sometimes.
And we sin.
BUT
Since sin doesn’t separate us from God, (see: 1), & since it doesn’t result in Punishment (see: 2), it means, sin has lost its power.

“The sting of death is sin; & the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Cor 15:56-57 KJV)

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Therefore, sin shows lack of maturity in our walk with God. We missed the mark. A saint falls 7x but gets back up, etc.
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5) So, if there’s no punishment, how does God respond to sin?

Well, if you fail your exam, will a good Father send you out of school? He’s more likely to give you •more• school (extra lessons) & show you •more• kindness by teaching you the topics again! (“...the Spirit helps our weaknesses...” Rom 8:26)

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📣He will not leave you stranded to teach you a lesson.
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Conclusion:
Sin slows us down, just like failing a class. But Love covers and RESTORES us.
And that’s what this really means:

“…Where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness…” Rom 5:20-21

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🙏🏽

You don't have to carry the weight yourself

God carries US. We don’t earn it. We only need to yield.

In this is love...
We often think God sends us on errand and waits until we struggle to figure it out by ourselves, then at the end of the journey He marks us: Pass or Fail.

No.

He knows we are helpless without Him. He carries us all the way. And when we acknowledge that we could NOT have done it without Him, He receives the glory - and still gives us the prize.