Coffee? Check. Pandora playing the instrumental music I need this morning for meditation, reading and writing? Check. The readings for the morning? Check. Attitude? Check. No, wait. Checked and warning lights are clearly visible.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
- Galatians 5:22-25
I'm tired. I barely slept last night and haven't rested well in days. Leah and I have had a lot going on recently, and time for housekeeping has been sacrificed to make time for other obligations or to recover from some of those obligations by resting. The downside of growing older and having the body begin to fall apart is not being able to physically do as much for as long. Now the house is a mess and in need of a thorough cleaning. It can't be put off much longer because my wife is allergic to chaos and her mental health suffers when the house becomes too messy for too long. I have not begun preparing for tomorrow night's sermon, and need to spend some time doing that. I need to start hitting the paying job hunt hard until I find something. I have less than a week to finish a major project that I gave my word I would do. I need to do some shopping for food and necessities. I....
I feel exhausted and overwhelmed, and the day hasn't even gotten up to speed yet. Once it does, caught up in the trip, I will have so little time to choose routes and make adjustments. But the above passage of scripture is such a great way to check myself and prepare for what lies ahead, not just for the day, but for as long as the trip carrying the particular load I'm hauling takes. I surrender, and I commit to make the trip according to the method designed by the Master.
Love: Yes, today, I will walk in love. I will pause before I react to people and situations and pray for the love of Christ to override every old instinct to act in any other way than love, care and compassion.
Joy: That one is more difficult sometimes, especially when feeling tired and under pressure, but I will fuel my joy drive with thanksgiving and praise. A grateful heart goes a long way to keeping joy working smoothly.
Peace: I will remember that I have been forgiven much and will extend the gift of forgiveness to others so that I may go through this day in and at peace.
Longsuffering, or patience: I will be patient with myself and others, remembering that five years from now much of what I am frustrated about today won't matter, and that very little of it matters on the eternal time line.
Kindness: It's hard to imagine that you could start with love and somehow forget to be kind, but people who claim to be acting out of love far too often forget to be kind. Love demands that we treat people like they have value and do what is best, and sometimes that can be hard. Refusing to counsel a drunk while he is drinking does them more good than indulging them. It is an act of love. But remembering kindness effects how that refusal happens, and that can determine if they feel loved or rejected. Kindness matters. I will temper love with kindness today.
Goodness: There is a right way and a wrong way. Today when the road forks I will choose the next right path, even when it seems the longer more difficult path. In the end, it is the only road that will take me where I need to be.
Faithfulness: I will establish my choices on what God says is true, regardless of what my emotions and senses are telling me about a situation.
Gentleness: This isn't a redundancy on kindness. It means to not be wildly rebellions, to be broken and gentle like a horse. Today I will allow my Creator to hold the reins.
Self control:...
That last one is a doozy. If there is one thing I have never been known for it's self control. And feeling tired and under the gun doesn't bring out that trait in me very often. But the truth is there is really only one choice I have any say in the matter. Only one area of self that I can control. I think that is why this is listed last, because now, at the start when the light turns green and before the truck gets up to full speed is the time to make that choice. To be or not to be, to surrender or not surrender, yes, that is the question and the choice. Today I choose surrender and to do what is called for on the check list for those who belong to Christ and wish to live for and by Him. Now, before I have to react at full speed, I can crucify, execute, my self-will with its wants, demands and instincts, and surrender the driver's seat to the Spirit.
That's why I need that wonderful reminder at the end, that those of us made alive by the power of the Spirit must also live by that same power. Because when I look at that list I only add feeling overwhelmed otherwise. I can determine and will to do those things, but the truth is, even as I commit to doing them, I know it's hopeless. I cannot complete the goal. I cannot stay within the lane of love and further adjust my direction and speed with joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness or self control. I can't do it. That's why the first of the gratefulness that I pour in to my tank is for grace. God's grace provides the drive and power to accomplish this journey that I could never make on my own. And His promise of forgiveness removes the fear that comes when faced with such an impossible task.
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