Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.Isaiah 40:30-31
I was looking for a verse that would probably back up my thought. Consider this verse, and what is mentioned in Romans 12:2 – ‘be transformed by the renewing of your mind’; Is this to say that as we wait on the Lord, we are transformed; that is, we renew our minds, and we renew our strength?
Because to be honest, I’ve been feeling the possible impact of age as of late. I can’t believe I’m openly saying that – maybe it isn’t the entire truth, but I will say that I’ve been feeling pretty sluggish during the later parts of the day. Like, tired and all that – not specifically physically or mentally, but definitely aware of what else can and should be done, but not wanting to get up and do it.
Recently I’ve also seen a need for me to renew my mind, as the Scripture says – In the face of the mountains to come, I find myself ill-equipped, even burdened by some cycles of thought that are manifesting in the physical – and in light of all we’ve been discussing regarding the world and the flesh, and why we still sin, I believe these thoughts are those thoughts birthed or altered by sin present in this reality, and by the ‘old software’. With that being said, I guess I was looking to Scripture to back me up, because what I’m looking for right now, specifically, is a re-programming of my mind.
I’ve been praying and setting time to intentionally worship recently, all out of my thinking that I need a reprogramming of my mind. And sure, introspection helps, but I’m being led to go to my Creator, who also happens to be my Chief Information Officer, the Head of Information Systems, my Cybersecurity Service Provider, my consultant and guide in Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, Data Sciences, and Open-Source Intelligence.
Indeed, as we worship, may every thought be brought into submission to Christ Jesus.
I’m about to leave the house in, oh, 10-15 minutes, but I think I have time to quickly go through today’s Psalm:
Vindicate me, O LORD, for I have walked in my integrity, and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
Prove me, O LORD, and try me; test my heart and my mind.
For your steadfast love is before my eyes, and I walk in your faithfulness.
I do not sit with men of falsehood, nor do I consort with hypocrites.
I hate the assembly of evildoers, and I will not sit with the wicked.
I wash my hands in innocence and go around your altar, O LORD, proclaiming thanksgiving aloud, and telling all your wondrous deeds.
O LORD, I love the habitation of your house and the place where your glory dwells.
Do not sweep my soul away with sinners, nor my life with bloodthirsty men, in whose hands are evil devices, and whose right hands are full of bribes.
But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity; redeem me, and be gracious to me.
My foot stands on level ground; in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.
First verse, and off the bat, we’re reminded of a reason, a motivation to seek the Lord, a motivation to pray and worship – that is, for us to remind ourselves of the integrity we have – the Psalmist says it is HIS integrity, but we who have sought the Lord and received the Son of God are saying that Christ HIMSELF is our integrity, and even that Christ HIMSELF is our vindication.
If penetration testing is discussed in groups interested in cybersecurity, so we have our God, testing deeper than our systems, deeper than our words and thoughts – He tests us to the core, He tests our hearts and minds. And, as I’m about to share later, He does this, not to seek out any sort of sin in us (as Christ already became sin and took our punishment), but quite possibly with the intention of discipline – Discipline, that is the preparation for the future, and not punishment for the past, as Dr. Farley shares.
Going through the rest of the Psalm, we see that it’s not just our own integrity that is tested and tried and ultimately changed for the better, but I see here how our God does not leave anything to chance – He not only sees things that may serve as vulnerabilities, but people as well – bad actors.
Looking at all of it, I see how our God is answering our desire, should our desire be for our mind to be re-programmed. The Truth as elaborated by the merging of Isaiah 40:30-31 and Romans 12:2 is beautiful enough – That is, again, as we wait on the Lord, we are transformed; that is, we renew our minds, and we renew our strength…
…But He ‘transforms’ us by way of reminding us that we have already been transformed – That is, Christ is already our Integrity, and as such, He continues to work in us – How? By continually testing and disciplining that which is within us that is still impacted by sin and flesh, AND also guiding us to like-minded individuals to thrive with.
Of course, there could be more to talk about, but I think I could end this here.
Thank You, Father.
Until the next post, God bless us all.
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