Today’s virtues have tenticles that reach and dig deep into the very marrow of my spiritual bone. Over the course of this weekend I have been troubled with some personal issues and then secuumbed to illness. For awhile I wasn’t sure if my illness was brought on by spiritual fatigue or by a true physical ailment. When my son Seth got sick yesterday it was apparent something true and physical was going around but I couldn’t help notice how the daily devotionals were helping to cure the spiritual ailment as well.
Jesus Calling by Sarah Young offered, “Come to Me and rest. I’m all about you to bless and restore. Breathe me in with each breath. The way just ahead of you is very steep. Slow down and cling tightly to My hand. I am teaching you a difficult lesson learned only by hardship.”
Commitment – (private virtue in relationship with God)
“How can I repay the Lord for all the good done for me? I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.” Psalm 116:12-14
Commitment is not an outward effort, but an inner transformation. It is a gift of grace. When we commit our lives to God, something happens deep within us. We begin to see the spiritual truth in every day life, to realize that keeping our word is not just a matter of making a good impression, but a matter of being true to the One who created us and redeemed us, the One in whose image we have been reborn.
“Speak to me!” I want to jump up and shout just as they do at my friend Rev. Timothy Sloan’s congregation (The Luke) when the spirit is high and the mesage is loud. 😉 I want to shove my hand upward to God and show Him that I recognize His gentle but firm reminder.
What had me ‘ailing’ over these past few days is a falling down on my commitment to God. I allowed the slightest bit of compromise to go against who He has formed me to be. For many if I were to tell you what it was you would laugh and think nothing of it. To ME it left a bad taste in my mouth and if anything it brings me back to recognize the ferver I held onto ten years ago when wanting to be even a tenth of who I am today seemed so hard but worth the struggle to go against the grain.
Constancy – (public virtue in relationship to others)
“Blameless and innocent, children of God, without blemish in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine like lights in the world, as you hold on to the word of life.”
Philippians 2:15-16
Love is the “North Star” that draws people home to God, the never-changing mark that guides them into a safe harbor. Poeple of faith must hold fast to the truth of God’s mercy and grace. We must be faithful to God and to others. We must establish our lives, our relationships, and our actions in the bedrock of Christ’s sacrificial love. Then we can be the Polestar that keeps the world pointed in the right direction.
Can ya hear it? 😉 Can I get an ‘Amen’? 🙂 I’ll say it again, ‘We must establish our lives, our relationships, and our actions in the bedrock of Christ’s sacrificial love.’ As it says in Phillippians we are in the ‘midst of a crooked and perverse generation’. We need to be stronger, more diligent and more purposeful in our lives, relationships and actions.
It’s the ‘little laughable things’ that can trip us up…that tripped me up. But it is allowing those little, laughable, often looked over and excused setbacks that build up an ugly layer of muck that can hide Christ’s light.
Thankfully Christ is all about blessing and restoration. 🙂
I wanted to share a very interesting blog post that a friend sent me the other day. It is beautifully written.
Blessings
Shannon
PS… HopefulHeartsMinistry.com is soon to come! I’m very excited about the new website but don’t worry, the blog will continue, hopefully it will just be better looking. 😉