IS SOMETHING MISSING IN YOUR LIFE?
BIBLE PASSAGE:
“But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace
to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than
all of them – yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”
(1 Corinthians 15:10)
MEDITATION:
Have you ever had the feeling that you want to do more for
the Lord, but cannot figure out exactly what you should do?
Remember when you were first saved? It was a time that is
often referred to as a ‘spiritual high’.
You couldn’t wait to tell others about how the Lord had changed
your life. You couldn’t wait to read His Word. You couldn’t wait
to spend time with Him in prayer. You couldn’t wait to go to church
so you could spend time with other believers, and listen to the pastor
deliver the message he received from God.
What has happened since that time? What has dulled the enthusiasm
of your love and appreciation for the Lord? Have other things pushed
God to a lower level of importance? Have you allowed the pressures
and desires of this life to replace the time you once enjoyed spending
with the Lord?
Have you become more selfish and replaced activities with the Lord
with some worldly desires? Or, are you trying to do the things you
did when you were first saved, but relying on your own strength and
wisdom?
Paul gives us some insight as to what we might be overlooking
in our attempts to worship, please, and serve the Lord. Paul
said God’s grace had a major and lasting impact on his own
life. He tells us that God’s grace made him who he is.
He realized the importance of God’s grace and the lasting impact
it had on his life, including his attitudes, and his desire to serve
and please the Lord. Most importantly, he knew that he could
successfully accomplish what the Lord wanted him to do because
God’s grace was vibrant and alive in his life.
Paul did not succumb to the ways of the world. He set his sights
on being a servant of the Lord, and did not waver in his resolve
to serve Him. Paul’s love for the Lord gave him the courage and
focus required for allowing the Lord to have control of his life.
We can guess that Paul was like any of us and had his own selfish
desires. He probably had things he wanted to do and things he did
not want to do, but he allowed God’s grace to live in him and keep
his priorities in the right order. Paul was under the control and
direction of God’s grace, rather than being controlled by his own
selfishness.
We came into the world with nothing, and we will leave it with nothing.
We are born poor (lacking God’s grace), and we are destined to die poor
if it were not for God’s infinite mercy and grace. Without the gifts of
intelligence, imagination, personality, and physical energy (which are
all given to us by God) where would we be? If we are anything, it is
because God is everything.
One of the detriments to our allowing His grace to live in us is:
thinking that our ideas of success and God’s ideas of success are
the same. That’s just not true; God’s plan for success requires
us to set aside our natural inclinations and follow His guidance
(which can often require us to leave our comfort zone).
Too often we establish our own routines and priorities. Rather
than allowing God’s grace to direct our paths, we make excuses
and justify why we have chosen to continue in our comfortable
routines.
ACTION:
Think for a moment about the crucifixion of Jesus. Was He
uncomfortable on the cross? Did He prefer not to go to the
cross? He had a choice, however, He left His comfort zone
and became uncomfortable in the most painful way because
He loved mankind, and wanted everyone to enjoy living with
Him and His Father now, and for all eternity.
How much of God’s grace living in you? Is it suppressed due to
your own selfish desires? Do you have a desire to ‘rekindle the fire’
you had when you were first saved? When is the last time you set
aside something you really wanted to do in order to please the Lord?
Have you ever thought that when the Bible refers to the ‘poor in spirit’,
it could be referring to those who have ‘become poor in their personal
spirit of selfishness’? When someone is poor a spirit of selfishness, they
realize the sinfulness of their sins, freely confess them to the Lord, and
have a desire to avoid them in the future.
A person who is ‘poor in spirit’ doesn’t spend time trying to justify
their sinfulness. Instead, he or she feels the guiltiness of sin, admits
their sins to God, and humbly asks the Lord for His forgiveness.
When we are ‘poor in spirit’, it can serve as a confirmation that
God’s grace has changed our lives.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for saving me. Forgive me
if I have allowed the influence of the world, or my own
selfishness, to suppress Your grace from being in control
of my life. Forgive me if I have left my first love that I felt
for You when You saved me. Other people can read my
words and actions, but only You read my heart. Where
I have pride, give me humility. Where I have selfishness,
give me selflessness. Create in me a renewed heart with a
desire to spend more time with You, and less time trying
to fulfill my own desires. Give me a greater desire to worship
and serve You than I have in pleasing myself. Forgive me
whenever I tend to boast about my own accomplishments,
for I am nothing without Your love and grace. Thank You
Jesus, for leaving Your comfort zone so that I could be saved.
Help me to leave my comfort zone when needed, in order to
confirm my desire to please You. I know it may be difficult
for me to change my focus and direction, but I am confident
that Your grace will give me the courage and determination
to successfully change.”
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