I messed up yesterday and I am paying the price for it today. I am emotional, antsy, and my flesh is begging me to get a drink or some chocolate, to watch a worldly movie or read a worldly book; anything to “turn off” my mind and not feel the way I do right now. These are mere temptations from the flesh, though, and He promises to provide strength when we are the weakest.
1 Corinthians 10:13No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.
You may be wondering what I could have possibly done to make me feel this way. Well, I didn’t get drunk or fornicate or steal; no, I just stepped off the path of righteousness for a bit and that small step was enough to disrupt my focus. You see, walking the path of righteousness is a full-time job and even the slightest of distractions is enough to veer you off onto an unrighteous one.
Proverbs 4:25-27 Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.
So, as I paced the floors this morning, battling the desires of my flesh, I heard the words often spoken by my Pastor (paraphrased), “When struggling or suffering, take your eyes off yourself and focus on others.” I then inventoried those in my life, praying for a “nudge” from the Holy Spirit towards whom I was to focus on. Then, He put the idea for this blog into my head and urged me to sit down and write.
The spiritual life is about proper perspective and then putting righteous thoughts into righteous action. It is very easy to read Bible verses or repeat truths you have heard from your Pastor and spiritual friends; but do you actually live them? Many Christians approach the spiritual life by occasionally reading a bit of their Bible, going to church on Sunday, and talking a really good game. If you observe the way they actually behave, however, it does not reflect all the Biblical rhetoric they spew. Now, we are all guilty of this hypocrisy from time to time, but the difference is that those who are truly dedicated to living for Christ recognize it, confess it, and repent; truly desiring to be “all in”, they seek His help. The true difference is commitment.
1 Kings 8:61Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.
Like anything you are committed to in this life, the strength of it is revealed when that commitment is put to the test. Our commitment to the Lord is put to the test continually, each and every day, in both big and small ways; so, our commitment is revealed to both God and other people by how we respond to these challenges. Do you submit to the authorities in your life when they are being unfair or you are in disagreement with their policies? Do you gossip and malign the co-worker who happens to drive the entire staff insane? Do you dedicate time every day to reading your Bible and praying or do you skip it and turn on the TV instead? Do you entertain the stray, evil thoughts that enter your mind or do you squash them with the Word? We are given hundreds, maybe thousands, of opportunities every day to either uphold or break our commitment to the One who saved us. As James, the brother of Jesus wrote, we must be doers of His Word, not merely hearers.
James 1:22-26 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless.
I messed up yesterday and so I am in pain. Instead of submitting to the flesh and numbing it, I choose to submit to His Word, live through the pain, and then be set free from it. This decision, my commitment, is only possible because of His commitment, His promise to answer my prayers for help.
Psalm 50:14-15Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving and perform your vows to the Most High, and call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.
Thank you, Lord, for your unfailing commitment to me.
Love in Christ,
Monica Ledford