In The Fear of the Lord by John Bevere, he makes a statement that has resonated in my mind. He speaks of people who know the word, quote it, but never apply it. We can all point fingers to those in our lives who meet this criteria but how many of us are wise enough to look deep within ourselves to examine that truth?
I did just that this week. I began by asking the Lord to examine me and expose those things which I know to be true in the word but do not play out in my life. I discovered some amazing truths that must now either be applied or ignored. Ignoring them comes with a high price because it means I deal with the consequence.
My first realization comes that even though I work in a church, spend a lot of time in prayer over matters of the people, spend a lot of hours working in that setting, that it doesn’t constitute a personal relationship with God. Boundaries over my time would allow my prayer life to flourish. Someone asked me recently if it was about time management? I quickly said no but upon review recognize that it is. I allow the needs of the many to outweigh the needs of myself. It’s a pride issue for sure because just as selfish people don’t take the time to pray for others, neither do I take the time to set boundaries for my personal life. You can get so wrapped up in the service to others that in the end you’ve done a disservice to yourself. In this area of my life, although I lament, I don’t change which exactly exemplifies the statement John Bevere made of ever learning but never applying.
Second, I love to write. It is my passion and the way that I express myself best. I have been given a word from the Lord to write and what to write about. I go through spurts of passionate pursuit and then nothing. This must change or next year I will writing this exact thing again.
For many years I thought if I hired help for the household chores that it would free me up to work. That is exactly opposite of what needs to happen. I have to hire help for work so that I am not consumed there.
Yes, we can all point fingers at our friends who know the word but it doesn’t manifest in their life or we can apply the knowledge to ourselves. I want to choose the better thing, I choose to apply it to myself.
Pastor Susan 