God never fails to reveal things to me when I sit still. If I am being honest, it is not often that I sit and just try to listen – not to worship, not praying, but just listening to anything God wants to teach me or show me. It is an intimidating thing to bring yourself into, unsure of what the experience will be, what He’ll say, if anything at all. There is a small decorative water fountain in the area I’m in. I always hear “overflowing mercy” and Christian lingo phrases like that about God’s grace and for some reason, I fully believe it in this moment looking on to this water fountain. As a believer sometimes it’s easy to forget what God says about me as precious and honored, redeemed and forgiven is true. I believe a lie sometimes that God’s grace is only sufficient for certain things, but hold on to darker or smaller things from my past or in my present as my responsibility to get rid of or just bear. But God doesn’t want me to bear that weight and that guilt because He already sent Jesus to bear it for me, once and for all. I don’t want to overlook the cross. Jesus died a gruesome, long, shameful death, hanging by nails in His flesh, spit on and utterly mocked as a perfect person. Jesus was tortured, whipped, and falsely accused to take my sin and take my guilt and declare me His freely. Jesus defeated death, He is victorious. If Jesus defeated death and if I really consider this and believe this, what do I have to fear? What do I have to bear? Satan has me by a foothold in the spiritual war when I believe that there’s not grace for that. You know the one. The thing that comes to your mind that you haven’t even forgiven yourself for or don’t know how or maybe you have repressed because you hate it so deeply. But Jesus died for it. Jesus defeated death for it. So live as you really are – a liberated child of God. Romans 5:5 says “and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” GOD’S LOVE HAS BEEN POURED INTO OUR HEARTS. We cannot escape His love because it reigns in our inner being. Friends, let’s choose to believe the truth and live accordingly. Romans 6:6 says “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” Let’s not put the chains back on! Let’s live as free children of a perfect Father and believe we are the creation made in the image of a majestic Creator. This brings me to my next revelation by God. As I am sitting here, eyes closed, listening, hoping for God to move and speak and teach, I notice the birds chirping. But I realize that they had been chirping the entire time, though I tuned it out. I do this with God’s love. It is there the whole time crying out for my attention in a tone that is hard to miss but I miss it anyway when I am caught up in other things. Those other things for me are probably approval from people, my own sick pride, busyness, school, and more. I want to see God for who He really is. A loving father, majestic creator, friend, confidant, powerful, merciful, tender, eager, kind, patient, consistent, perfect. I want to step into the full embrace of His mercy and His love. I hope you join me.