Saturated in Prayer

“Don’t be pulled in different directions or worried about a thing. Be saturated in prayer throughout each day, offering your faith-filled requests before God with overflowing gratitude. Tell him every detail of your life, then God’s wonderful peace that transcends human understanding will make the answers known to you through Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:6-7 TPT)

Close friends rarely run out of things to talk about. They can be vulnerable, honest, and transparent about everything. They aren’t concerned that what they say will be misused or misunderstood. This level of relationship takes commitment, time, and trust. I am lucky to have good friends with whom I can share my burdens, thoughts, and joys. However, I do not have this level of intimacy with everyone I meet. For example, if I needed help moving a heavy, cumbersome object in my home--I would only ask someone with whom I had a close relationship. It takes time to know a person well enough to assess their strength, dependability, and availability. What if I didn’t have anyone in my life that fit this description? I wouldn’t just ask a neighbor whom I wave at occasionally! No, I would try to manage by myself--even if I had to drag my burden alone. 

God is strong, dependable, and available. Unless we know God intimately, we won’t feel comfortable going to Him with each and every concern. This level of relationship takes commitment, time, and trust. Prayer is any form of communication with God. When we unload our concerns to Him, we confirm our confidence in Him. We only feel the need to handle things on our own when we have no one whom we can rely on. 

Anxious thoughts reveal a lack of confidence in God. Worry pulls us away from the presence of God and back into the muck of worldliness. Distrust breeds chaos, while trust generates peace. The more we communicate with God, the more we get to know Him. Through prayer, we express our dependence on God. When we hand over our concerns to Him, we dethrone any illusions of self-reliance. Gratitude reminds us of the source of all goodness and reinforces our confidence in God. External troubles do not vanish. However, a supernatural peace that transcends human logic protects our minds from turbulence as we trust in Christ Jesus. 

Faith Fatigue

“So, let’s not allow ourselves to get fatigued doing good.” (Galatians 6:9 MSG)

I am always tired after a long run, but most of the time, it is a good tired. I know that hard effort makes me better as a runner. However, there are weeks when I feel burned out. I want to quit; I have no motivation to continue. It’s hard to pull myself out once I have reached this stage of fatigue, so I’ve learned to recognize the symptoms and be proactive. I prepare for the onslaught of self-doubt by writing down my motivations before hand. I go back and review them before each race and long run. This mental preparation is essential in combating fatigue. I have learned to listen to my heart instead of my aching body.

Similarly, we must prepare ahead of time for periods of waning faith. On days when God seems distant, prayers go unanswered, progress is imperceptible, and fears are overwhelming--the natural urge is to stop trusting. Instead of listening to our doubting minds, we need to push forward under the power of the Spirit. This takes premeditated effort. Learn to soak in the presence of God. Don’t wait until you are weary and listless. Read, study, sing, meditate, listen, write, and worship. Fill up with grace and mercy.  

Watering Sidewalks

“The one who plants in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work in him, harvests a crop of real life, eternal life.” (Galatians 6:8 MSG)

Watering my flowerbeds is time-consuming. I have to actively stand there and aim the hose nozzle at each plant. One time, I hooked up the hose to a sprinkler and placed it near the flowerbeds. When I went back to check on it, there was just as much water on the nearby sidewalk as there was on the flowers. 

God has assigned each of us a gardening plot. We are called to plant, water, weed, and harvest according to His purposes. We need to seek the Spirit’s guidance daily--asking whom we are to help, where we are to serve. Our work is not meant to be random or passive. Without focused attention, we end up watering sidewalks...wasting grace. Thus, let us do everything in response to God, letting God's Spirit do the growth work through us, harvesting a crop of real life, eternal life.

Sharing Burdens

“Stoop down and reach out to those who are oppressed. Share their burdens...” (Galatians 6:2 MSG)

Every morning, my mind goes over all the plans I have for the day. I check the family calendar. There are always the usual household chores and maintenance tasks. Then there are appointments, commitments, and stuff I want to do. I make my list. I realize that I may not get everything on my list done. I also know that unanticipated burdens may be placed upon me. I will have to continually reassess my time and energy resources throughout the day and make adjustments. 

Like everyone else, I have my share of problems. I trust God to take on all that is beyond my strength to carry. I also ask the Lord to give me supernatural eyes to notice others who are oppressed. Sharing their burdens lightens my own load. Why? Because I don’t have to rely on my own reserves. I am merely a conduit. The Lord works through me, and I gain strength in the process. Thus, I reach out intentionally to those who are weighed down, downcast, and  persecuted. 

Lord, may Your grace flow through me to lighten the burden of at least one other person today. Show me who is in need; grant me compassion; fill me with strength. 

Training Ground

“Strengthen your feeble arms and weak knees.” (Hebrews 12:12 NIV)

Marathoners know that running 26.2 miles on race day is not as hard as the training that precedes it. Endurance takes time to develop. Each training cycle consists of incremental increases in weekly miles, long runs, speed work, and hill repeats. It takes months of consistent discipline to strengthen muscles, enhance cardiac output, improve VO2 max, practice fueling while running, and figure out how to prevent chafing from the inevitable friction of clothes and shoes. Unlike race day, training days have no cheering crowds, medals, or glory. Yet, it is these days of hard effort and dedication that lead to strength. The actual marathon merely reveals how well you have trained. 

“We presume that we would be ready for battle if confronted with a great crisis, but it is not the crisis that builds something within us—it simply reveals what we are made of already.” (My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers)

It is not adversity but our response to it which develops strength. Consistent practice is the essence of training. Feeble faith and weak worship is a recipe for defeat. We cannot learn to use swords in the midst of battle. Unless we learn to acknowledge, trust, and depend on God on easy days, we will not be able to do so during a crisis. Discipleship requires discipline. A strong faith is developed over time. Crises are simply tests that reveal how well we have trained. Let us not wait for trials to build up endurance, but allow adversity to reveal our existing strength. 

Fruits of the Spirit

“The fruit produced by the Holy Spirit within you is divine love in all its varied expressions: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit.” (Galatians 5:22-23 TPT)

In The Five Love Languages, author Gary Chapman writes about different ways each of us experiences and expresses love. According to this book, the five most common forms of showing love are: quality time, words of affirmation, acts of service, physical touch, and gift giving. A husband whose love language is gift giving may bring his wife flowers and also feel loved when she reciprocates with gifts of his liking. However, if the wife’s primary love language is service, she may feel more loved if her husband washed the dishes after a meal. Knowing each other’s love language can help us communicate our emotions and understand each other better.

Divine love, in all its varied expressions, is produced by the Holy Spirit within us. The love languages of the Spirit are: joy that overflows, peace that subdues, patience that endures, kindness in action, a life full of virtue, faith that prevails, gentleness of heart, and strength of spirit. Striving to produce these virtues in ourselves is ineffective. Most of us can only manage to stutter and stammer incoherently in our own power. Christ communicated God’s love. May the Spirit of God express love to us and through us--filling us with goodness and overflowing onto others. 

Base Camp

“God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do.” (Galatians 6:13 TPT)

Mountain climbers set up a base camp prior to starting a multistage ascent. The base camp provides a staging area with all the resources needed for an expedition. This is generally a safe area that one can walk to or drive to with supplies. The real climb starts after the base camp. However, I have heard of people who go only as far as the base camp. That is the end of their aspirations. Their goal is limited to what they can achieve by their own power.

God has called us to live in the Spirit. Our goal is NOT merely to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. This world with all its busyness is just a staging area for the real ascent. We are meant to leave behind our instinctual cravings for self-preservation, self-indulgence, and self-promotion. Set your sights on going higher than you can walk by your own power. Yield to the Spirit. Abandon anything that hinders your progress and climb freely. Let your life be an expression of love and freedom.