by David Scott Robertson
Have you ever thought these kinds of thoughts?
Have you ever prayed these kinds of prayers?
“Lord, how do I do it?
How do I get from where I am to where you want me to be?
How do I break the ‘habitual ritual’
That I sometimes find myself in, spiritually?
Am I in a ‘religious rut’?
Where is ‘the abundant life’ that Jesus described in John 10:10?
How is my life currently displaying an attitude of
Being an overcomer, a victor and more than a conqueror?
Am I really ‘walking in the Spirit’?
Am I bearing ‘much fruit’ and glorifying my Father in heaven?”
Have you ever taken out a legal pad
And humbly, thoughtfully and very prayerfully
Asked Father God to enlighten your mind on how to revamp your life?
Then, by faith, you write out your new schedule: -
“On Sundays, I shall get up early for a time of worship to prepare my heart for church.”
“On Mondays, I shall get up at 5am for prayer and Bible study.”
“On Tuesdays, I shall pray for missionaries and government officials.”
“On Wednesdays, I shall get involved at church in a ministry to children.”
“On Thursdays, I shall meet with an accountability partner to pray.”
“On Fridays, I shall fast.”
“On Saturdays, I shall make entries into a spiritual journal to document my week.”
Oh, it gets worse!
“I shall exercise daily.”
“I shall eat right.”
“I shall do family devotions each night.”
“I shall go out on a date with my spouse once a week.”
“I shall find a new Christian and mentor him.”
“I shall call my mom and go to lunch with her this week.”
“I shall have my unchurched neighbors over for dinner this weekend.”
“I shall go to the prayer meeting.”
“I shall memorize some scripture this week.”
And it works great… for ten days.
Then you catch a cold and feel rotten and oversleep for nine straight days, trying to get over it.
What happened to my spiritual momentum?
How did my new life get derailed so quickly?
What do I do now?
OK. Now, perhaps you can understand the perspective I’m writing from.
I’m not writing about someone else.
I’m writing about myself.
Perhaps I’m writing about you too.
Life is interesting.
If you think long enough and hard enough about all the
Mishaps,
Detours,
And frustrating setbacks that you have along the way
You can easily talk yourself into being
Discouraged,
Dismayed,
Disoriented,
Disenchanted,
And all those other negative “dis-“ words which lead to “dat” word – depressed!
It’s no wonder the Bible instructs us to: -
(Colossians 3:2 NIV) “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
(Philippians 4:8 NIV) “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.”
God promised us through the prophet Isaiah…
(Isaiah 26:3 NIV) “You will keep in perfect peace him [or her] whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.”
We will (get it?) WE WILL TO,
We make a conscious decision,
An act of our own volition,
We decide to exercise our free will
And choose to REJOICE AND BE LAD!
(Philippians 4:4 KJV) “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.”
(1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV) “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
(Galatians 5:22-23 NIV) “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
Conclusion: (Ecclesiastes 12:13 NIV) “Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the manner. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.”
DSR
10/14/99