Have you ever heard someone say "Get a life!"? This is usually meant as an insult, saying that we don't value current culture or relationships or events as we should. This year, I desire to reclaim more of life.
In life, it is so easy to let things slide, so we constantly must hold ourselves to checks. Living in the midst of ministry, we are constantly evaluating. Are we doing what should be done? What should we keep the same, what should we do differently? How can we reach more people? How can we engage the people we already know? These are great and necessary questions. However, it is just a step from evaluating our ministry through the lens of God and His Word, and judging our life by the people we are trying to reach and our peers.
What does God call us to? Faithful obedience. This done, the rest is "extra" so to speak: it is fruit to our account, but not of our effort. We can't make fruit appear. Even if we tied apples to our apple tree out back, it would not mean they would continue to grow- in fact, they would spoil. That's just not how it works. Lacking visible "fruits of ministry" it is easy to question everything. Yet this leads right down the road of fearing man more than God. God's kingdom is invisible; and sometimes the fruit of our labor is invisible as well. This does not mean fruitless- it means unseen until heaven. Then again, sometimes visible fruit in this world is non-existent in the invisible realm. Whether we are in ministry or not, our lives are constantly judged. So how must we proceed? Where do we go with the constant stresses placed upon us?
We must get a life. Not just any life though, THE life. The kind only found by knowing the One who created life. "And this is life eternal, that they may know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent." (John 17:3) Knowing God is the sole purpose of our life here, and the only place joyful, abundant life is found. That is how we glorify God. It is where we find peace, even amid stressful pressures in this world.
Though we dedicate so much time and energy to temporal, earthly relationships - this movie theatre, that play date, so and so's birthday party, coffee and conversation - how much time do we dedicate to our heavenly friendship? If you asked my boys, they could tell you all the details about Sonic and his friends, and are happy to tell you about what they know. So many of us are the same with our own carnal pursuits; yet not so quick to share a Bible verse, a characteristic of our heavenly Father especially dear, or a testimony of God's grace in our life.
Here's how to change it this year:
- Memorize Scripture. Whether a verse or a passage, try to learn something new each week.
- Meditate on that Scripture. Think on it before bed, quote it before eating meals, and ponder it's significance in your daily walk. In our home, we call them "battle verses" - our sword to help us fight a current struggle.
- Spend more TIME in the Word. Have an app that sends you a daily verse, and read it before you do anything else on your phone. Start your day with Scripture reading or listening to Scripture being read to you. Think on it, and find at least one way to integrate what you read/heard into your daily life. Join a Bible study group or find a Bible study book to go through in addition to your daily reading.
- Pray. Have a dedicated prayer time (mine is in the shower!). Besides that, commit to talking to the Lord throughout the day, thanking him for nature's beauty, a particular blessing, so forth and asking for help making decisions, turning stresses over to him as they appear, etc.
- Keep a spiritual journal. Write down answers to prayer, special verses, struggles and triumphs in your spiritual walk with the Lord.
- Keep God's Word before your eyes. There is something to the wisdom of Deuteronomy 6:7-9. Put a sticky note on your mirror with the current verse you are memorizing. Hang Scripture verse art on the walls. Write verses/make your own art throughout the week. As you do, you'll find it comes to mind so much faster!
- Don't give up! It's important to remember, that as in any journey, there are setbacks. Urgent matters may not be the most important, but still require immediate action (especially to moms!). "Situations" come upon us. You forget a day, or a week, or ...longer. Just make a plan, adjust as necessary, and jump back in.
Getting our life back is hard. We are so used to seeing things with our eyes, and not with our spirit, that at first the spiritual muscle's growth causes quite a lot of pain. Yet, the Word of God promises (especially in John 14-17) that the rewards are so immensely worth it! Do you want joy? Peace? MORE?
Get the Life!
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