All too often, and I can attest to this, we work to strengthen ourselves up with earthly riches. The quote goes something like, ‘he who has the money has the power’. The strength we receive on earth from material things is very temporary. With the snap of a finger or the stroke on a keyboard, it can all be gone. We tend to put our trust in our earthly power and hope that is enough. Yet outside of God’s grace, this is all they have. It is all they know.
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,
Ephesians 3:16
I have fallen into a trap of the comfortable. It is not an easy trap to get out of when as a believer you want to do so much more. It is very easy to be complacent and just let life just move forward. This complacency leads to lazy believers who think only of their own faith and are not too interested in making waves and sharing it with those who may have an opposing viewpoint. To much work. Too much effort. We fill our lives with entertainment satisfying our earthly bodies desires drowning out the voice of the Holy Spirit that is calling us to so much more. We go to church on Sundays out of routine and cry out asking God why we cannot hear His voice during the week yet truly are we listening? If you were to chart out your time in a week what priority would God have? I know that sadly in my life God would not be number one. This breaks my heart to write yet pushes me to make it right.
On our own, we are going to fall over and over again. Unless we reconfigure our lives from the inside out we are bound to go through this life on a loop. Paul understood this, he says many of the new converts making the same mistakes and was writing to remind them that in their own strength they will keep failing. Until we draw on the strength given to us personally by Jesus through the Holy Spirit, only then can we break the loop that binds us to complacency. Take some time today to read Ephesians 3:14-20, Paul knew that together we are strong. We build one another up and keep each other accountable for our actions. He saw the power the Jesus has for us when we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us. We must embrace the Holy Spirits power in our lives, only then will our inner being be strengthened and the power we desire given.
There is also a part we need to play. Turn off the distractions that are keeping us from hearing God. Set limits to your entertainment time if you cannot go cold turkey. Prioritize God in your life. Spend to much time watching TV? Video games? Sports? Hobbies? Whatever it may be God needs to be glorified, those things cannot be put ahead of His love. He wants to talk to you, empower you to do the mission of reaching the lost and we must get out of our homes to do it.
Father, forgive me for my complacency, I have fallen into the trap of lazy faith. I want so much more and willingly turn from those things that keep me from haring your voice. Holy Spirit I invite you to call me out on these things, push me to grow in my faith and let go of the things that hold me back. I trust that what you have to offer is much more valuable then what the world is offering. I pray that eyes are opened today to this and lives changed. Use me to be a vessel of love to those around me and witness to your grace. Let me be the salt and light to the world around me. Amen
50 Days of Pray 