As you probably have noticed, I like to end my posts with a prayer. I do that because I believe that all change begins in prayer. I believe that all the good things start with God. My calling is to bring others to Jesus. And in prayer people can meet Jesus firsthand.

Today I wrote the prayer before writing the post itself. And I pray God will answer that prayer in this post. (Maybe this is too random but we will see.)

Gracious God,
You know me
and you still love me.
Don’t leave me as you found me,
make me new,
restore me
according to you best plans for me.
Be praised for your loving kindness.
Make me every day more like you.
Empower me to think like you
and then act like you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen

After this I read today’s Bible verse provided by Biblegateway Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and make me willing to obey you (Psalm 51:12, NLT). This seemed somewhat to echo the prayer.

We need forgiveness.
We need cleansing.
We need a new start.

The only way to get that is by grace through faith in Jesus.

It’s that simple.
But it works.
Time after time.

Here’s the same psalm in context in the Message version:

Soak me in your laundry and I’ll come out clean,
scrub me and I’ll have a snow-white life.
Tune me in to foot-tapping songs,
set these once-broken bones to dancing.
Don’t look too close for blemishes,
give me a clean bill of health.
God, make a fresh start in me,
shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life.
Don’t throw me out with the trash,
or fail to breathe holiness in me.
Bring me back from gray exile,
put a fresh wind in my sails!
Give me a job teaching rebels your ways
so the lost can find their way home.
Commute my death sentence, God, my salvation God,
and I’ll sing anthems to your life-giving ways.
Unbutton my lips, dear God;
I’ll let loose with your praise.
(Psalm 51:7-15, MSG)

From time to time we all need to have a Genesis week from the chaos of our lives. Instead of throwing us out with the trash, God restores us. Instead of failing to breath holiness in us, God brings us back from gray living.

Gray living is our enemy. If we are muddy and dirty, we know we need Christ. But when we are gray, we think we are passable and do nothing. We pretend everything is okay when we are spending our precious time here on earth for gray living (instead of shining like we are meant to).

Gray living is fearful living. Not daring to do what God calls us to do because we don’t think we can do what we are asked to do. We settle for gray living. We are not white nor black. We settle for gray and every day blah-blah. No wonder we are unhappy.

Even when our life is totally screwed up we have hope. Because God loves us and wants what’s best for us. God does not want gray living for us. He wants us to enjoy really God-colorful life. God wants us to be bold and beautiful according to his plans for each of us.

Then we’d become more like him.
Then we’d think more like him.
And maybe then we could even act more like him.

I don’t know about you. But I think it is time to say goodbye for gray living.

Come, Lord Jesus! Make it so! Amen

Q4U: Are you stuck with gray living? Ask God to show you the way into God-colorful life!

Be blessed, my fellow pilgrim, as you by God’s grace fight your way out of gray living into God-colorful life!

Photo courtesy of Robert Hafley,design Mari-Anna Stålnacke. Linking up today with Sharing His Beauty, Unforced Rhythms, Playdates with God.