“For you are a holy people, who belong to the Lord your God. Of all the people on earth, the Lord your God has chosen you to be His own special treasure. “The Lord did not set His heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! Rather, it was simply that the Lord loves you, and He was keeping the oath He had sworn to your ancestors. That is why the Lord rescued you with such a strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.” – Deut. 7:6-8
What does it mean to be holy? One definition is “exalted or worthy of complete devotion as one perfect in goodness and righteousness”. The bible says, “But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.” – 1 Peter 1:15-16
God says He is holy and He is telling us to be holy as He is, which means our actions are to reveal to others His holiness. That is a VERY high expectation. It’s also necessary, for nothing but holiness can be in the presence of God.
So, then I have a very big problem. I am anything but holy. I am so common, I could probably be the definition of the word. And there is nothing I can do to change that – even if I try to show it through my actions. I have a condition called sin. Sin cannot live in the presence of God. Because of sin I no longer desire the things of God naturally. My inner self is prone to seek after the common instead of the things above where God is. I am the antithesis of holiness.
But praise be to God that there is hope for my condition! God knew I needed divine help so Jesus came and did for me what I could not do for myself. His power became my power and His victory became my victory. “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” – 2 Cor. 5:21
That means, His power has become mine and what I could not do before, He will do in me if I allow Him. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” – Ezekiel 36:26-27
The secret to my journey to holiness is a deeper surrender to Jesus, surrender to His leading by faith. His presence and power is the key to my condition. His divinity is needed to overcome my sin. The deeper my surrender is to Jesus, the more I am filled with His Spirit and the greater my walk in victory is and the more I become holy even as God is holy. The secret to all of it is a deeper connection to God which comes through deep submission and surrender to His will.
This is a real battle because the deeper God goes into my heart and character, the greater the fight over fear and pride is because some of my character traits are very deep rooted and won’t let go easily. But this daily work is my process to holiness. It’s God’s process for me to work out the sin in my character and make me holy even as He is holy.
I have never thought of this process to holiness as a privilege before. But, when I take a deeper look at Deuteronomy 7, that’s exactly what it is. It is a privilege because the deep, unwavering love of God is revealed in my life, a life filled with sin and unworthy to stand before Him. Instead of me doing the work for Him, God does His work through me in accordance to His divine plan and purpose. “He who called you is faithful, who also will do it.” - 1 Thess. 5:24
I have the privilege of coming into close contact with the Creator of the Universe, who holds all power and authority on earth and in heaven. This great God says He is MY God and that He has chosen ME, not because of anything I have done but simply because He loves me and because He keeps His promises. My journey to holiness is a privilege because that journey makes God real and personal to me. Someone who is way beyond value and worth from who I am says I am worthy and valuable enough to Him to die for and become closer to me than any human ever could. He is asking me into relationship with Him and through resting and surrendering to His love, He works His will and purpose in my life.
This knowledge gives me strength and courage to face this journey daily – especially when I stumble and fail yet again in my weakness. Despite deep trials, broken promises, and pain, I know that this journey to holiness will end in an amazing fulfillment of God’s richest promises and blessings for me. As long as I keep on keepin on, looking to Jesus, the author and finisher of my faith, I will make it. One day, I will have the privilege of standing with Jesus face-to-face, God in the flesh, as one of His daughters He has saved by His power. There is nothing greater than that and makes the fight over sin worth everything. Yes, the journey to holiness is definitely a privilege.
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