Spiritual Growth...

It's been a humbling week for me.

Earlier in the week, while studying 1 Peter, Chapter 4, God gently rebuked me through His Word about some good thing I was doing - but I wasn't doing it with the right attitude.

Today, our Pastor, in preaching God's Word, pointed out that God GIVES us what we need to live successful lives as His children - and I know we would all agree with that statement.  The problem is defining what that means.  "Well, we need to obey God's Word.  Go to church.  Pray.  Read our bibles."  Blah, blah, blah.  What does that mean on Monday morning, when I'm at work and the boss is ranting and raving about something over which I have no control?  Or when I'm driving in traffic, minding my own business, and some crazy person, applying makeup, talking on the phone, and eating breakfast, cuts me off?

So, let's get to the nitty-gritty of the issue here.

Look at 2 Chronicles 7:14 - "If MY people, which are called by MY name, shall... 

• HUMBLE themselves, (it's not all about us) and 
• PRAY, (not just at meal time, but constantly, fervently) and
• SEEK my face, (I bet we spend more time & effort looking for a lost earring than we spend looking for what GOD wants for us) and
• TURN from their wicked ways; (oops -" turn" is an pretty bold action word!  I can't just be thinking about something - I gotta actually MOVE)
• THEN will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land."
•  Hmmm....or how about this one:
  
  "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night."  Psalm 1:1-2  
  
  
  • BLESSED is the man - do you want to be blessed??  Then you can't do things your own way, the way your sinful flesh wants to do them!  You have to:
  •  WALK NOT in the counsel of the ungodly (by the way, ungodly people are not just evil, wicked people - ungodly people would be anyone who does not know the Lord as their personal Lord & Savior.  How could you received godly advice from someone who does not even have a relationship with God?)
  • STANDETH IN THE WAY OF SINNERS - Who are you spending time with?  Who do you chat with at work?
  • SIT IN THE SEAT OF THE SCORNFUL - Okay, notice the progression here.  First we're walking - walking is for a limited time; I picture strolling with someone casually.  Then we move to standing.  You've stopped moving, you're paying more attention to what the other person is saying - you're standing.  And now, now we're SITTING.  We're giving that scornful person - that person who mocks and rejects God - our full attention and we're not going anywhere for awhile.  Who do you consider your best friend?  Who do you spend the most time with?  Is it someone who will encourage you to grow in the Lord, or is it a lost friend, who influences you with their worldly ideas and philosophies?
  • HIS DELIGHT IS IN THE LAW OF THE LORD - here's the key; the blessed man (or woman) takes great delight in the ways of God; she hungers to know God better; to be more like Him, to know ALL that God wants her to know.
  
  
  Here's the point:  We ALL have room to grow - and GOD gives us that ability to grow.  And He gives us everything we NEED to grow.  But it involves removing ourselves from the throne and putting HIM back on that throne, as he deserves.  It involves putting God and others first in our thought process, instead of self.  
  
  
  Do a reality check today.  You may be growing - but could you be growing even more?  Be humble, pray, seek, turn...walk not, stand not, sit not...but DELIGHT in the law of the Lord - live it out in real life!    :)