Remember those early days of dating, when all you could think about was each other? You would go out of the way to spend time together. I road a bicycle like 5 miles, to the nearest pay phone, as often as I could, just to hear the sound of her voice. (This was before email, the internet, social media etc). You tried to learn all the things that would cheer her heart. Your love was full of extravagance.
But, as we get married, that fades a bit. We settle into life and maybe we think about being extravagant on a birthday or anniversary. What happened to that devotion? What happen to constantly having each other on our minds?
Our relationship with God can be like this too. Oswald Chambers spoke to that in his devotional Utmost for His Highest today (21 January). He asked the following question,
- Am I as full of the extravagance of love to Jesus Christ as I was in the beginning.
- Do I go out of the way to show/prove my devotion to Him?
- If I look back to those early days, do I find that He is not what He used to be to me?
- Remember the little things that cheer His heart.
- Recall the things that God prizes and start doing them again.
- Look for ways to show Him kindness.
If that is true of you, Champers says, “let it motivate you to “godly sorrow.” (2 Cor 7:10) Godly sorrow isn’t just feeling bad about something. It’s a sorrow that leads to change, it leads to action. Don’t just feel bad that your relationship with God isn’t where it used to be, let that knowledge motivate you to do something about it.
My Prayer for you today:
As my readers reflect upon these words today, I pray they will remember some sweet times they have had with you in the past. May you remind them of times when fellowship with you brought them great joy. Remind them of what life can be like when you are using their lives to impact people around them, when there is no fear of getting caught, or fear of what others think, but a simple rest in you and confidence in your working in and through them. Heavenly Father, give them a holy motivation to discipline themselves to do what it takes to find that kind of relationship with you everyday. Show them the changes they need to make the habits they need to break, and the disciplines they need to implement in order for their lives to be your instrument to draw people to yourself.
PS: If this is something you have been challenge with and want to get serious about, I would love to be your coach to help you to do that. 1 Timothy 4:8 reminds us that worldly discipline (that of exercise to prepare for a race, or a sports tournament, etc) has some value. But godliness is of great value in every way because it brings value both in this life, and in the life to come (1 Tim 4:7-8). Therefore, Timothy says, “train yourself / discipline yourself in godliness.” Every athlete who wants to develop in order to succeed and become the best they can be, sees the value of a coach. How much more important is your spiritual development? How motivated are you to succeed spiritually? Please let me know if you would be interested in being coached toward spiritual development and success. It would be an honor to do so.
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