I was thinking this past weekend about what we are willing to do
to participate in earthly events. If we
are having company over for dinner or maybe even for a few days, most of us
will spend hours and hours making sure our home looks like one in which we have
never lived. If we have a high school
reunion coming up, some of us will go on crash diets and run to the gym to make
it appear that we’ve never eaten a dessert or missed a day working out since we
left those hallowed halls.
If we have a strong desire to move up the corporate ladder, we
will sacrifice just about anything to reach our goals. Long boring meetings during the day, hours
spent during the evening pouring over sales records and weekends steal our
thoughts as we strategize for the coming week.
If we are members of the football, baseball or gymnastics teams…we
are willing to spend hours and hours and hours practicing the same thing over
and over again. Then we are willing to
travel all over the state, sometimes taking us away from our families, friends
and even church services to display what we have achieved as a result of our
hard work.
Why is it then that we often balk when we hear that we should be
spending time with the Lord each day? Why is it when the Lord impresses on us that
we need to work on certain areas of our life so that we will look more like
Him, we immediately spew out excuses?
This past weekend I had the privilege of sitting with a sister
in Christ as she spent seven hours giving her past to her Savior. These hours were emotionally draining and
difficult as she faced issues head on that she knew were hindering her walk
with her Lord. She knew that it wouldn’t
be easy, but she willingly put herself in that position because of how much her
walk with Him means to her. Her strong
desire to be all she can be for her Lord is pushing her to do whatever it takes
to look more like Him.
What a wonderful example of what our walk with Christ should
look like. All of us need to learn from
this young woman and have her same desire to make sure we are free of those
things that are holding us captive in chains.
Many of us have excess baggage that is weighing us down and hindering us
from being sold out for Christ. But we
have to be willing to put in the hard work to break free from those chains and
dispose of our baggage so that we can begin to move forward.
Once we are moving in the right direction, we need to be willing
to stay connected to Christ each and ever day so that our relationship with Him
stays fresh. We can’t know what He wants
us to do and how He wants us to live if we aren’t reading His Word and
listening for His voice. I am confident
that whatever sacrifices we need to make to ensure we are following Christ’s
will, will be well worth it. As Joyce
Meyer has said, “Spending time with God
is the key to our strength and success in all areas of life. Be sure that you never try to work God into
your schedule, but always work your schedule around Him.”
What a great reminder as we begin a new week. I’m guessing that if we plan this week
working our schedule around God…everything else will fall into place. And remember, the reward will be much greater
than any earthly event we can imagine!
“O my people, trust in him at all times.
Pour out your
heart to him,
for God is our
refuge.”
Psalm 62:8
“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on
every occasion.
Stay alert and be persistent in your
prayers
for all believers everywhere.”
Ephesians 6:18
No comments:
Post a Comment