Blank Pages

While driving to work this morning and meditating on the subject of this blog, a warm tear trickled down my cheek. As I brushed it away, another one replaced it. My soul was crying out with this thought: whatever it means to be a "blank page" for the Lord to write on--- I want that in my life so very much........

You see, last week I was called out at midnight to see a family in need. While I was struggling to get awake and, at the same time, driving to where they lived, the Lord impressed me with the thought of compiling a talk on how we can become a blank page for Him to write upon. I'm not sure that I really understood what that meant, but I intended to proceed that idea and learn what I could.

I began by meditating on what being a blank page is. I quickly came to the realization that what I needed to do was pray over the whole matter, then allow the Lord to bring the blank page concept into my own life. So, I began to take it for a test drive in the things that I did daily.

Here are some things that I discovered.

Every day all of us have tasks to carry out that are already written within our lives just because of who we are.

Mine looks something like this:

I am a husband.

I am father.

I am a chaplain.

I am a friend.

I am a witness.

I am a coworker.

I am a spiritual caregiver.

I am a counselor.

I am an employee.

I am a believer in Christ.

I am a team member.

I am a citizen.

And, arguably, there are many other things I could add to this list.

So, then, since this is all true, how could I possibly be a blank page? How could any of us be so?

This is the solution that I discovered for me.

I'm not sure that I did everything just exactly right, but I began to pray over those things that the Lord had already allowed to be written into my life.

I asked the Lord to let me become a blank page for Him to write upon in all of the areas in which I function as a person.

Let me illustrate what I am mean.

When I am at work, I want the Lord to be free to write on my blank page the kind of attitude that I should have toward others. If I have already written one in because I dislike or distrust someone, then I'm not being a blank page for the Lord to write upon. Get the picture?

Check out this other example also.

I may have an appointment to meet with a friend and do some counseling. I know the reason I'm going....... I know the time that I'm going..... I also know the subject that we will discuss. But, I can ask the Lord to feed into my heart and mind the things that I need to say to help this friend. I can ask the Holy Spirit to guide my words and thoughts in order to address the issues in a very positive way. I can ask the Lord to help me be the blank page for Him to write upon so that I can help this person.

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Right now, as I am writing this, I'm using a piece of blank paper – no lines, no color, nothing. As this page is getting filled up with my writing, I notice that there is less room for anyone else to write on the page. It is becoming filled up with my own thoughts flowing through the pen which I am holding.

My life can get much like this page...all filled up with my own scribbling which sometimes is hard for even me to read.

Way too many times it is like that.....

Please understand this .......if I fill up my life's page with all my own stuff, then, where is there room for the Lord to write anything on it? No wonder I miss His will sometimes. Especially when there is no room for Him to write because I have everything so filled in with the me, me ,me words.....

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Asking the Lord to help us abandon ourselves is the key to setting aside the lines of selfish clutter within our lives.

In 1875, a Quaker named Hannah Whithall Smith wrote a wonderful book called The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life. In that book she encouraged the readers to pray this prayer:

"Here, Lord, I abandon myself to Thee. I have tried in every way I could think of to manage myself, and to make myself what I know I ought to be, but have always failed. Now I give it up to Thee. Do Thou take entire possession of me. Work in me all the good pleasure of Thy will. Mold and fashion me into such a vessel as seemeth good to Thee. I leave myself in Thy hands, and I believe Thou wilt, according to Thy promise, make me into a vessel unto Thy own honor, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use, and prepared unto every good work."

This prayer sounds as if Ms. Smith wanted to forsake her own stuff and become a blank page for God to write on.

I do believe that this concept has Deep Roots in the Scripture also. Just consider the following passages of Scripture.

Luke 22:41-42

41  And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw, and He knelt down and began to pray,

42  saying, "Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done."

John 17:4

4  "I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

John 4:34

34  Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.

John 14:31

31  but so that the world may know that I love the Father, I do exactly as the Father commanded Me. Get up, let us go from here.

Jesus' life was directed around the constant goal of accomplishing the will of His Father.......so should ours be too.

However, in order for the Lord to write His plans into our lives, we first have to abandon our own selfish plans.

If the pages of our lives are too full, where does God write?

Here's a suggestion:

Come before the Lord with an honest heart. Ask Him to clear out the meaningless scribble on the pages of your life. And then, present Him with your blank page and ask Him to write upon it.

I believe that you will really enjoy what you see.

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You are more special than you know.

You are God's child.

You really can do this.

Sincerely and humbly submitted,

Dan