Invite Him In...

As Christ followers we carry a power and authority that not everyone in this world can say they have. We have the ability invite God's presence into any situation we come up against and we can KNOW that He will show up.
If you are a follower of Christ then that means you have called upon Jesus once and had the most powerful thing done in your life...you had your sins forgiven and your slate wiped clean. I'm not sure how much you stop and think about that. That you called upon Jesus and He showed up, and in that moment your entire life changed direction. That the same Jesus who stepped down out of heaven, became a man, died and rose again, just had a one on one encounter with you. And because of that you now have access to call up that same name whenever you need to.
I have written in the past about living as a "defeated" Christian. How that is not what God wants for us. That we are to walk in the identity of Christ and know who we are because of whose we are. But today I want to also talk about walking around in defeated situations.
You may feel like you are secure in your relationship with Jesus and you know if life ended tomorrow you would be in heaven with Him, but is that as deep as you go with God? If so you are missing out on so much that God has for you now....here. God does not intend for His people to be controlled by situations or the world around them. Instead He wants us to invite Him into those situations... and then trust, believe and watch what He can do. No, God is not a genie that we call on to grants us wishes or magically pulls us out of situations...especially the ones we have gotten ourselves in. But He is a God who can pull good out of any bad situations and turn things around for His glory. However, to do this He needs us to include Him. Whatever the situation is...sickness, emotional damage, physical pain, relational damage, feelings of hopelessness, depression, rage, hurt....God can come in and change the situation if allow Him.
There are lots of scriptures that talk about calling on the name of Jesus or using your faith to change a situation (Romans 10:13, Matthew 21:22, Hebrews 11:6, Mark 11:22-24, Luke 1:37, Hebrews 11:1). But quite possibly my favorite one is Proverbs 3:5-6..."Trust in the Lord with all your heart,And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths". The reason I love this verse is because it doesn't just say "God can", but it also talks about our part. Yes, God can do anything....but we have to trust, we have to let go of what seems logical to us, and we have to acknowledge Him in ALL of our ways. Meaning we can't live the way we want and then call on Him and "expect". He knows perfection is not possible from us because we are broken people living in a broken world. But He does look at our hearts and knows if the things we do are truly out of a desire to please Him...or a selfish desire or a worldly desire. And in ALL situations His number one goal is draw us to Him...and in the process draw others to Him. Don't limit what He can do by limiting how much glory He gets from it!
So whatever your situation is, if you have not invited Him into it yet, then do that today! Ask Him to search your heart and offer you correction and direction, and then ask Him to change the negative thing in your life into a positive. If that requires healing them pray for that, if that requires restoration then pray for that, if that requires rebuilding then pray for that...but no matter what you are praying for, trust Him and praise Him and give Him recognition as you wait on Him to do it in His perfect timing.
God, thank You that You allow us to invite You into situations. Help us humble ourselves and make that the first thing we do...not our last resort. Let every situation that You move in change us and be seen by others so that YOU get all the glory. Holy Spirit guide and direct us so we are not falling into the enemy's traps and living as defeated people in defeated situations. Instead, help us walk in wisdom, knowledge and truth...bring glory to You God. We love You and we honor You with our faith, our trust and our lives. In Jesus name, Amen