The Weekly Thing is back
“And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” --- Colossians 1:10-14
Hello friends,
Wow, it’s been quite a while since I wrote you last. Much has been happening over the past month, and there’s only more craziness going to happen as the summer progresses. I was out at training for one week; doing work-related travel the next week; packing after that; and just this past weekend I moved into my new apartment and have been trying to settle in. Things have been very hectic, but the Lord has taught me so much through all of it.
One neglected area that God pointed out was that I wasn’t putting a priority on spending time with the Lord and delving into His Word. Oh, I’d been reading I assure you; I was going through 2 Kings actually. However, my attitude about reading wasn’t right. I had been reading with this weight looming over my shoulder that said I had to hurry so I could get the day’s tasks done. So I’d read some, maybe think about it a little, maybe pray a little too, and then hastily get to working on whatever it was that I thought I needed to get done. Truth of the matter is that this basically says to God, “I can’t pay attention to you because I’m busy,” and that what I need to get done (again, whatever that was) is more important than God…
The other attitude that had a hold on me was one that said I couldn’t invest time on myself and my relationship with God because I needed to be focusing on other people and their needs and doing stuff for them (or in preparation of doing stuff for them). The error here is that if I’m not filling myself and investing into my relationship with the Father, then I cannot possibly pour out onto others. Eventually I’m going to start pulling from a dry well.
Which is kind of what started happening as I was getting frustrated, annoyed, and a little despairing about how effective I was at doing the ministry I’m doing… how effective I was at being a Christian witness. I was beginning to lose focus.
Ever feel like that?
I think that sometimes it’s good for all of us to get a kick in the gut like I did about how I was investing in my relationship with God. I know that the Lord is faithful, even when I am not, and He will continue to work in my life… but He still deserves the priority. In the Bible it says that we are to always be praying, always to be putting our petitions and requests at the throne of the God of Glory. We’re supposed to be in continually communication. If you’re having a hard time wrapping your mind around why we should do this: 1. Don’t worry, we all have a hard time with it; and 2. Think about it as if you were developing a romantic relationship. You want to spend time with your significant other, right? You want to talk to them, right? You want to know as much as you can from them and about them, right? I know I do… and how much more ought we to do these things with our Creator.
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” --- Ephesians 1:17-23
In love and in Christ,
Your sister, Yvonne
Hello friends,
Wow, it’s been quite a while since I wrote you last. Much has been happening over the past month, and there’s only more craziness going to happen as the summer progresses. I was out at training for one week; doing work-related travel the next week; packing after that; and just this past weekend I moved into my new apartment and have been trying to settle in. Things have been very hectic, but the Lord has taught me so much through all of it.
One neglected area that God pointed out was that I wasn’t putting a priority on spending time with the Lord and delving into His Word. Oh, I’d been reading I assure you; I was going through 2 Kings actually. However, my attitude about reading wasn’t right. I had been reading with this weight looming over my shoulder that said I had to hurry so I could get the day’s tasks done. So I’d read some, maybe think about it a little, maybe pray a little too, and then hastily get to working on whatever it was that I thought I needed to get done. Truth of the matter is that this basically says to God, “I can’t pay attention to you because I’m busy,” and that what I need to get done (again, whatever that was) is more important than God…
The other attitude that had a hold on me was one that said I couldn’t invest time on myself and my relationship with God because I needed to be focusing on other people and their needs and doing stuff for them (or in preparation of doing stuff for them). The error here is that if I’m not filling myself and investing into my relationship with the Father, then I cannot possibly pour out onto others. Eventually I’m going to start pulling from a dry well.
Which is kind of what started happening as I was getting frustrated, annoyed, and a little despairing about how effective I was at doing the ministry I’m doing… how effective I was at being a Christian witness. I was beginning to lose focus.
Ever feel like that?
I think that sometimes it’s good for all of us to get a kick in the gut like I did about how I was investing in my relationship with God. I know that the Lord is faithful, even when I am not, and He will continue to work in my life… but He still deserves the priority. In the Bible it says that we are to always be praying, always to be putting our petitions and requests at the throne of the God of Glory. We’re supposed to be in continually communication. If you’re having a hard time wrapping your mind around why we should do this: 1. Don’t worry, we all have a hard time with it; and 2. Think about it as if you were developing a romantic relationship. You want to spend time with your significant other, right? You want to talk to them, right? You want to know as much as you can from them and about them, right? I know I do… and how much more ought we to do these things with our Creator.
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.” --- Ephesians 1:17-23
In love and in Christ,
Your sister, Yvonne