Preparing vs. Repairing
A 3-D approach to daily faith
Life can so easily overwhelm us. Jobs, marriage, kids, finances, and other responsibilities all pull at our attention spans, leaving little room for self-reflection or personal devotion to God. How do we manage all of that while still giving the proper time to the Lord? Why is that even important?
A life out of balance is one that finds us weighed down on one end and completely in the air on the other. We exist in react mode rather than being mentally, emotionally, and — most importantly — spiritually prepared to face the challenges that are sure to come. Prepared? Is it possible to actually be proactive in the face of life’s challenges rather than playing Whack-a-Mole with them after they pop up? Yes!
Here is a 3-D approach to preparing for inevitable challenges rather than merely waiting to repair the spiritual damage:
Decide at the start of each day to give it to the Lord. Psalm 118:24 says, “This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it.” We get to experience each day that comes our way because He made it. What a blessing! He has a purpose for us each and every day that He allows us to tarry in this life; we must decide that, no matter what we face, the day is still His and that we are to serve Him.
What is that purpose He created us to fulfill? Whatever that looks like for each of us individually, it boils down to serving Him no matter what. We can be sure the enemy will bring obstacles into our paths and maybe even doubt into our minds, but the day does not belong to him because he did not make it. Our God is more powerful than our enemy and He is faithful to redeem us according to His will for our lives. Let’s decide to dedicate ourselves to Him each and every day.
Devote the steps of our day to the Lord. Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” Whatever we do, let’s do it prayerfully and with our hearts trained — at every step — on honoring and pleasing the Lord. We are not Him; we cannot see the bigger picture of our own lives — and certainly not of His will — the way He can.
We should not lean on our own human understanding, but rather trust that the Lord knows us, how He has gifted us, and what He has called us to do and He will direct our paths. All we can do by leaning on our own understanding rather than His will is get lost.
Do what He has called us to do. We are urged by Paul in Romans 12:1 to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is our reasonable (or expected) act of worship. He goes on in that same chapter (v. 11) to say, “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”
We are to surrender to what God has created and gifted us to do, and we are to do it with zeal. Passion. Exuberance. We were not created to serve ourselves; we were created to serve Him and encourage others to do the same.
Each day is a blessing no matter what happens. While we cannot always avoid negative experiences — or people — we can certainly prepare for them spiritually by remembering who we are called to be and who we belong to. We are called to live by faith in the One who has redeemed us from our sin. Let’s be intentional in our journey by honoring God at every step!
