DO YOU KNOW MY LORD?

1 John 2:3  "Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments."

For so many years I thought I knew the Lord, but I now know I only knew of Him.  I had no real personal knowledge of Him.  I thought I did; how often do we believe we know someone and then realize that we only had head knowledge of them, not heart knowledge.  When I was finally stripped down to just me....no one to hide behind, no someone's daughter, someone's wife, someone's friend; just me, Pat, then the Lord came to me.  There was no pretending I was someone I was not, He saw right through every shield I put up.  There was no thinking I could "fake" it till I made it, all pretense was gone, it was just me and Jesus. 

I recognized Him right away.  There was not a doubt of who He was; only of who I really was.  After so many years of pretending I was one thing or another, of making myself into what was expected of me, whether I was happy in that shell or not, it was what I was expected and wanted by others to be.  Imagine my shock when I saw what my Lord saw.  But I knew Him.  His touch, right away I knew I had felt that touch so many times before.....when I was hurt, that touch comforted me; when I was frightened, that touch shielded me from harm; when I cried, that touch drew me to Himself and held me.  Yes I knew that touch.  Those eyes, I had felt those eyes looking into me so many times as I was in the shell of anothers making; I had known those eyes searching my face for recognition to the many faces I wore; and I had seen those eyes filled with love, waiting for me to recognize Him.  His voice, yes, I know that voice.  How could I not have known whose voice was calling to me, to come out of the charade of characters I had become and just be who I was made to be; that sweet voice telling me over and over how much He loved me, and it was so hard for me to hear Him with all the other voices I was listening to.  But yes, I had no trouble recognizing my Lord.

When He finally stripped me down to the bare necessites of what mattered most in life.....my heart, my soul, my spirit.....and there was no hiding from Him any longer, I looked, I listened, I felt.  I looked at His eyes, I listened to His voice and I felt His touch on me and could no longer deny how much I needed Him, how much I longed for Him to fill me with His peace, His joy.  My spirit had such a need for healing, my heart needed restoring and my soul a deep cleansing.  My Lord did all He came to do, all He died to do, and all He rose again to do.   He cleansed me of all my sin, He restored my soul and He refreshed my spirit.  His mercy swept over me and His grace lifted me up to Himself as He touched my very being with His presence, His love, and He overflowed my entirety with joy.

And He made sure I knew Him.  He made sure I knew His love would never fail me, He would never leave me, and He would come again to take me to live in eternity with Him.

Do you know my Lord?  Has He been given the leave-way to strip you down and cleanse you from all unrighteousness?  Have you unmasked yourself before the Lord and let Him see you bare and open before Him with no false pretenses about you, just you and Him.  Have you welcomed Him into your heart, completely without reservation, letting Him do a work in you that will restore all to you that has been stolen by the enemy's lies and munipulations?  What are you waiting for?  Aren't you tired as I was, of running and hiding, of being who you weren't meant to be.  Come now, He is waiting, He is waiting to give you His love, His mercy, His grace and His joy.

My Lord, I know Who You are.  You are the Bright and Morning Star that shines through the darkest night, You are the First and the Last, You are my Beginning and my Ending and You will be my Everlasting, my Eternity.  I know You are my Lord and I am so thankful You always knew who the real me was meant to be.

12-23-11