I really liked this morning’s devotion in “Jesus Calling”…
“Seek to please Me above all else. Let that goal be your focal point as you go through this day. Such a mind-set will protect you from scattering your energy to the winds. The free will I bestowed on you comes with awesome responsibility Each day presents you with choice after choice. Many of these decisions you ignore and thus make by default. Without a focal point to guide you, you can easily lose your way. That’s why it is so important to stay in communication with Me, living in thankful awareness of My Presence. You inhabit a fallen, disjointed world, where things are constantly unraveling around the edges. Only a vibrant relationship with Me can keep you from coming unraveled too.” (Matthew 6:33; John 8:29; Colossians 3:23-24)
This resonated with me for a few reasons:
- I need constant reminders about what is truly important. According to scripture, the only things that are going to last into eternity are God’s Word, His Kingdom, and People. Holding onto the “please God above all else” mantra gives me a filter through which to judge my motivations & activities. How are the priorities of my life, and the effects of my character, living-out God’s Word or reflecting His Kingdom or influencing the people I am surrounded by in daily life? THAT is the question.
- I’m prone to temptation. Have you ever had a stray, evil from the pit of hell, burst into your consciousness and race through your mind out of nowhere? me too. Scripture calls that temptation….”we are dragged away and enticed” (James 1:15) to throw away our allegiances to Jesus and follow the desires of our flesh for a minute, or two, or more. This is the enemy’s sabotage of the Holy Spirit’s reign in us…and I need to set my heart & mind constantly on Jesus as my focus.
- The stability of my spirit, and God’s within me, unravels a bit with every choice I make that dishonors Jesus as my first love. This happens in cycles with me: recognition of sin, repentance, victory, joy, laziness, sin, repentance…..and so on.
I actually DON’T agree with the devotion’s words “only a vibrant relationship with Me can keep you from coming unraveled….” That implies perfection in our relationship with Jesus as attainable….which I do not believe is possible this side of death. That’s part of why Jesus had to die in the first place! In my view, the sentence could be better written “only a vibrant relationship with Me can put you back into order each and every time you become unraveled.” When we are weak, He is strong.
