I love the fall. And I mean I love everything about it. I must admit ,however, that every year when this deluxe season rolls around I get lil' pensive. It's the darn trees. I can't help but be reminded that dying can be a beautiful thing. The trees are dying, shedding off what they have had for so long, and yet the whole process is beautiful with the promise of new growth in the spring after a cold season of nakedness. Maybe one of the reasons I enjoy this season so much is because this is what happens in me. My vanity, my love of self, my lack of trust in God's timing and faithfulness, my pride, my lust, my fear of man, my gossip, my laziness; these things are a reality in my heart. They do not define me, but they wage war with my spirit daily. I hate these things, and I must die to them. Romans 7 says "But now, by dying to what once bound us, we have been released from the law so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit, and not in the old way of the written code." The old Danielle is dead, yet I still choose to live according to her at times. And there you have sanctification. In my heart I see my wretchedness, yet I am learning to praise God for the gracious ways He reveals to me that HE IS BETTER and HE IS WORKING. I am fully equipped by His Spirit to live a life of freedom, abundance, and beauty. But I must die...daily. And it's a beautiful thing, because with this moment by moment choosing to cling to the Gospel and die to self comes new growth and beauty.
Teach me how to die, Lord. "Show Me" Audrey Assad
