Not too long ago I bought a house, and as many of you can probably understand, when you buy a house you spend a lot of time on the house. I have found myself spending a majority of my time either working on the house or thinking about working on it. I was convicted this morning when a good friend sent me an Instagram message simply asking how my walk was going. I replied that it in fact hasn't been my key focus. I've been able to give the excuse of "Oh, I'll get back into deep prayer once my house is complete," or "Work and working on the house has gotten me pretty tired, I better rest and then I'll get back to prayer tomorrow fully rested." This past week I knew that my walk with God wasn't strong because my prayer life had taken a back seat. I put it in the back seat and put my house, work, and the whirlwind of the Christmas season up in the front. I am so thankful that my friend messaged me this and I was met with conviction because it led me back to where my focus should be.
When I find that I am mentally putting God in the back seat, I go into my so called "Prayer Closet." That is typically a place of peace to myself. This morning my closet was a run in my neighborhood. I bought a house in the neighborhood that I grew up in, and this morning I did an old loop. To me there is nothing more peaceful than playing a few favorite Christian songs and running. Today I listened to two songs on repeat for the entire run because they were songs that I really enjoy, and lyrically they were what I needed to hear. Did you know that when you move just a little bit towards God, He will move significantly towards you? More on this to come.
I went through my day and then went to evening service. In the message, Joby Martin talked about how a woman in Acts chapter 16 had it all. Her life was all together, she owned businesses, had many houses, and sold the "Purple cloth (which apparently was big time in those days)." This woman, though having everything, still felt an emptiness. I thought for myself, how many times do we see so much success in our lives, but still feel empty? What about Instagram? Everyone on my insta feed looks like their life is perfect....yet I know that there is 99% emptiness. Emptiness comes when you don't fill your cup with the only thing that truly fills: Jesus. Everything else in your cup does nothing but take up the space that Jesus needs to be in.
Back to building your house. When you build a house, you must build it on sturdy and steady foundation. You must also build off of the corners. This is why Jesus is often called the "Cornerstone." The cornerstone is the most important part of the house because it sets up the full construction correctly. It is the foundation into the proper construction. What does the foundation of your spiritual house look like? Where does your spiritual house derive its plans from?
Today while painting, I stopped and just thanked God for bringing me back to Jacksonville. I thanked Him for all of the blessings He has given me, and all of the happenings that led me back here. I then had an idea: I wrote a prayer on an unpainted wall. The prayer is now covered in paint, but I know it is there. I know that it asks God to fill this house with His Holy Spirit and to move within all of those that enter. I asked that the foundation of the spiritual house be solely focused on Jesus and that I humbly and always put God before everything. You wouldn't want to stay overnight in a house that is structurally poor, so why would you want to live in a spiritual house that isn't focused on Jesus? Conviction is a great thing. Thankfully your God is with you, all you have to do is close your eyes, bow your head, and pray to your heavenly Father and He will restore the foundation of your spiritual house. God wants a relationship with you.
As I mentioned before, when you move towards God, He will move towards you. The coolest thing about my walk with the Lord is that God knows me so well and speaks to me through only ways that I would understand. For example: Tonight at church they played "O Come to the Altar." It is not coincidence that that song was one of the two on repeat from my run earlier this morning. Divine Intervention is not coincidence. God knew that He had my attention, and that song being played tonight showed once again that when you move towards God, He moves towards you in ways that you can't even imagine. My prayer for you this week is that you start your days with the foundation of prayer and enhancing the relationship that Jesus wants you to have with Him. Put Him first this week and see what ways He talks with you.
Have a great week!
Song of the Week: Mover of Mountains
When I find that I am mentally putting God in the back seat, I go into my so called "Prayer Closet." That is typically a place of peace to myself. This morning my closet was a run in my neighborhood. I bought a house in the neighborhood that I grew up in, and this morning I did an old loop. To me there is nothing more peaceful than playing a few favorite Christian songs and running. Today I listened to two songs on repeat for the entire run because they were songs that I really enjoy, and lyrically they were what I needed to hear. Did you know that when you move just a little bit towards God, He will move significantly towards you? More on this to come.
I went through my day and then went to evening service. In the message, Joby Martin talked about how a woman in Acts chapter 16 had it all. Her life was all together, she owned businesses, had many houses, and sold the "Purple cloth (which apparently was big time in those days)." This woman, though having everything, still felt an emptiness. I thought for myself, how many times do we see so much success in our lives, but still feel empty? What about Instagram? Everyone on my insta feed looks like their life is perfect....yet I know that there is 99% emptiness. Emptiness comes when you don't fill your cup with the only thing that truly fills: Jesus. Everything else in your cup does nothing but take up the space that Jesus needs to be in.
Back to building your house. When you build a house, you must build it on sturdy and steady foundation. You must also build off of the corners. This is why Jesus is often called the "Cornerstone." The cornerstone is the most important part of the house because it sets up the full construction correctly. It is the foundation into the proper construction. What does the foundation of your spiritual house look like? Where does your spiritual house derive its plans from?
Today while painting, I stopped and just thanked God for bringing me back to Jacksonville. I thanked Him for all of the blessings He has given me, and all of the happenings that led me back here. I then had an idea: I wrote a prayer on an unpainted wall. The prayer is now covered in paint, but I know it is there. I know that it asks God to fill this house with His Holy Spirit and to move within all of those that enter. I asked that the foundation of the spiritual house be solely focused on Jesus and that I humbly and always put God before everything. You wouldn't want to stay overnight in a house that is structurally poor, so why would you want to live in a spiritual house that isn't focused on Jesus? Conviction is a great thing. Thankfully your God is with you, all you have to do is close your eyes, bow your head, and pray to your heavenly Father and He will restore the foundation of your spiritual house. God wants a relationship with you.
As I mentioned before, when you move towards God, He will move towards you. The coolest thing about my walk with the Lord is that God knows me so well and speaks to me through only ways that I would understand. For example: Tonight at church they played "O Come to the Altar." It is not coincidence that that song was one of the two on repeat from my run earlier this morning. Divine Intervention is not coincidence. God knew that He had my attention, and that song being played tonight showed once again that when you move towards God, He moves towards you in ways that you can't even imagine. My prayer for you this week is that you start your days with the foundation of prayer and enhancing the relationship that Jesus wants you to have with Him. Put Him first this week and see what ways He talks with you.
Have a great week!
Song of the Week: Mover of Mountains
Comments
Post a Comment