Jesus Speaks to Me!

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. John 5: 24

As I am trying to retake my writing, which I have neglected for way too long due to my hectic work life, I was reading through John chapter 5 and the verse above jumped out at me.  I was looking for other encounters between Jesus and women in the gospel...but...reading the words of Jesus made me pause...and I realized that verse 5:24 is, none other, than Jesus' words to me this morning...

The same way that Jesus spoke to women in the physical world back when He walked the dusty roads of Israel a couple of thousands of years ago...He speaks to women today...He speaks to women, including me...

He speaks to women who need to hear His voice.  He speaks to women who are lost.  He speaks to women who feel alone, forgotten, abandoned, left behind, unworthy, insufficient, mediocre, and basically lifeless... He speaks to me and you!

I struggle with those feelings all the time.  My insecurities often throw me into a spin cycle worse than a whirlpool washing machine. At the end of such cycles of self-inflicted mental flagellation I am completely empty, and life seems to come to a stop...sigh...for I am my worst judge...

Then, a verse like John 5: 24 appears in front of my eyes:

Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

and...it feels as if Jesus Himself has just breathed life back into my soul!  I'm alive again!  Therefore, I cannot ignore it or pass it over.  I have to pause, inhale it and let it do its work inside of me to restore me.

I want to hear His voice and only His!  I don't want to be distracted, sidetracked or detoured by the voices of this world.  I want to be tuned into the Only Voice that Matters:  The Voice of Truth!  I only want to hear the voice that says: "Come to Me! You don't have to be worthy, because I AM, and I live in you.  You don't have to be enough, because I AM.  You don't have to be insecure because your security is in Me!"

I have crossed over from death to life because Jesus has carried me through!  Therefore, I don't have to live a life of worry and self-hate.  I have to learn how to love, even love myself, because He loved me first.

As the semester comes to an end and the pressures of work are put on hold for a while, I would like to finish exploring Jesus' words to women in the Bible, but I'll mix it in with a return to my mundane musings as they come to me.  The exercise is precious and it often leads me to places I was not expecting, reminding me that it is a good and liberating thing not to be in control of every detail, and not to plan every step.  

See you soon, and have a great day!