FOR THIS DAY, FROM PAUL
by Ramona Cook Sometimes we feel that there is nothing happening in our "spiritual life." We wonder, "When will I ever get to the Lord's will and assignment for my life?" It seems so often that the day is filled with household and family chores, or work at the office; that the evenings are filled with family involvements, and at the end of the day there is no spiritual engagement that has occurred in our experience. Could it be that part of the reason for our dilemma is that we have only a partial view of what is "spiritual?" Are we seeing with only one eye? In Titus 3: 13-14 Paul gives this instruction: "Do your best to help Zenas, the lawyer and Apollos, to get started on their travels, and see to it that they have everything they need. Our people must learn to spend their time doing good in order to provide for real needs; they should not live useless lives." TEV So let us do a checklist. Do the people in our house need a good meal every day? Does the baby need a diaper change? Someone must clean the germs from the floors and the toilets so that sickness takes no hold on the family. The list is endless. For those who go to a "regular outside job" their service to the Lord is no less important; after all those are people with whom we deal, whose money we manage or whose food we handle, with whom we speak either kindly or abruptly on the telephone. But know that God loves His babies, the tall ones and the short ones, and He is pleased when we do the care-taking for Him, and with Him. We are His partner in all the good things we do. The fact is that all of us are either contributing to the good of people around us or we are doing them harm. So if we are doing the job God has provided for us and doing it with honesty and integrity, then we are doing a spiritual thing. The one point we need to be certain to include into our day is Scripture reading and prayer. That is our time to be personal and devoted to the Lord and He will guide the path we take in doing His work which is all inclusively the work of His heart. It occurred to me at a point in my life that I was suffering with this dilemma of only doing mundane things and the feeling that I was never "getting to it!" I believe the Lord gave me a message that He also is involved in daily and routine things that don't seem spiritual. This is the message in poetic form: Monotony Learning to be faithful I've been thinking about it and I really must say that my life is monotonous from day to day. Everyday doing the very same things, waiting and wishing for spiritual gains within my heart to grow, and in my life to show. After all, God is miraculous and powerful, He's a mountain moving God, things just ought to happen when He is involved. So why am I here just doing the plod of a day to day routine, questioning, "Where are You God?" Yet, I think of the things that God does as He holds all things together, and I understand there are many things that I take as fact of matter, such as my heart that beats, and the breaths that I breathe, and grass that is there, and also the trees, the sun that rises and sets at a scheduled time, ending the night and beginning the day, and it has always happened exactly that way. The stars are hanging there in the sky exactly in their place, never moving at all, not by a trace. The wind and water, God controls, while being aware of every prayer that ascends to Him from every soul. He's been doing all that He does since before to the earth I came, and long, long after I'm gone, He'll continue to do the same things. I suppose that I have to consider the indisputable truth that I see, routine is not dull to God, it just seems dull to me. There is a deeper truth that we realize while living out our routine day to day lives, routine is acceptable and right, in God's eyes. "So whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might!" "For what does God require of you but to walk humbly with Him, to love mercy, and to do justly in His sight?" These are the things that I can do as I live day to day, knowing that my faithful plod is very acceptable to my Seeing God. And while in the life of every one occasional wonders occur when we can say emphatically, "Oh yes, God was here!" Most of our life is blandly routine, but that in itself is miraculous, although it's not the main thing. The primary thing required of our life is to actively worship our God, and always to be careful to not engage in strife; to do our work and to be applied, to be merciful to those who are at our side, to do justly in all that we do and say and then, when to Heaven we come we will joyfully hear Jesus say, "Welcome home, faithful one." P.S. Oh yes, there are miracles to be done and messages to be told! There are healings' that will come and salvation to many souls; and still, these are the things that are done by our God, through the ones who with Him walk faithfully in the times we call "Routine" or perhaps, "Monotony." Ramona 04/28/2011 Today's Date 01/13/2014 Ramona, Master in Ministry Arts, BA in Biblical Studies, I am an Ordained Minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |
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