Failure & How I Achieved it. This “tongue-&-cheek” title showcases the tragic testimony of many Christians. They fail, not because they didn’t try, but because they tried too hard. After years of enduring the spiritual rat-race, of trying the hardest they can to serve the Lord, of committing their time & energy in good faith to the demands of church involvement, wake up 10 or 15 or 5 years down the road “burned out,” “used up” dazed and disillusioned. They are often left with a nagging sense of guilt, failure and condemnation. They end up finding themselves in a place without any joy or the certainty of their salvation. Many have even faced the sobering realization that they really don’t know the person of Jesus. They realize what they have had a relationship with all these years was a spiritual leader, or a church program, or belief system, or ministry commitment or set of disciplines or even a wholesome social network of Christian Friends. So many started out with a wholesome desire to serve the Lord but often found themselves in performance oriented churches or legalistic systems that gradually sucked the life out of them through ministerial agendas, the requirements of church programs, church expectations and the demands of spiritual disciplines and quotas. Often, in reality, we stir up a lot of religious dust and generate a lot of church commotion but much of our self striving ends up being little more than an impressive legacy of dead works, empty sacrifices and misguided zeal. These slowly become the driving focus and not Jesus. Oh He was always around somewhere, like an old friend we haven’t spent time with or seen in ages. He’s always on the periphery of our life and our activities but we sense deep down inside, in our heart of hearts that something is missing and there’s this gnawing and painful sense of spiritual loneliness. In the familiar story of Martha & Mary in Luke 10:38-42 we see this showcased so clearly. Like Martha, we often lose sight of Jesus in the midst of all the “hustle & bustle” of serving and our personal relationship with Him becomes buried under a growing pile of spiritual duties, demands and disciplines. Whether its church life or the common “everyday” treadmill, our lives have often become so cluttered and clogged with commitments & busyness that we are simply going through the motions while Jesus gets regulated to the sidelines. Where do we find God in the midst of our busyness and serving? The most effective way I know is through simple communion with Him - cultivating the daily art of drawing near to Him in prayer - By developing the spiritual habit of calling him into our everyday life as shown to us in Proverbs; “Trust in the Lord with all you heart, and lean not to your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.” (3:5 & 6) Its really that simple. Its what the Bible refers to as “Looking unto Jesus”, of including Him in your life - of consciously turning our attention to Him, of inviting him into even the most mundane aspects of our life. If we take the time to include Him in all the busyness regardless whether its in the daily grind, church involvements or spiritual activities; * We will find a closeness & intimacy restored like the renewal of a long lost friendship. * We will find His presence seep back into our daily lives * We will experience His presence in “all our ways” * We will find refreshing to our weary soul * We will be led to do His will and not our own.
Posted on: Sun, 26 Oct 2014 13:41:35 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015