EXPAND TO READ: 1 THESSALONIANS 3 (HCSB)
PERSONAL JOURNAL:
SIN (verse 5): I have been a Best Man in the Real Men 300 for about 6 months, now. What this essentially means is that I am a Spiritual advisor to those appointed to me, just as Paul was to the Thessalonians. With this divine appointment, there does often come some doubt and worry, just as Paul experienced here. Paul was worried about the Thessalonians, fearing that the tempter may have tempted them away from You, essentially meaning all of Paul’s work had been in vain. I often feel this way at times about the guys I have been appointed to be a Spiritual advisor for, Father. I am sorry for my doubt and often worry over others and their salvation. I ask for Your forgiveness here, because You did not appoint me to be in control of the salvation and spiritual path of others; You asked me to be a Spiritual advisor to them and what they do with that is up to them. All I am charged with doing is sharing Your truth with others. What they do with Your truth is not something I am in control of and I need to be okay with that. Please forgive me for some of my doubts and fears related to this, Father. I do want the best for those around me, but at the same time I need to remember a saying I learned in the Real Men 300: “I can only make requests; I have no rights. Because I live by faith and not by sight. So, when my requests are denied I must seek Your face and what You grant me is by Your grace.” Please help me to live in this statement more frequently in my life, Father, so that I do not try to control the salvation and Spiritual journey of others and instead simply share Your truth and make requests and seek You through all of it.
PROMISE (verse 13): Such a bold statement that Paul makes here, but I find this to also be a promise of Your amazing love towards us. My heart is definitely a driving force in my life, even in my spiritual journey. Unfortunately, my heart has been beat up, broken, scarred, and hardened quite a bit over my life. In no way does this mean that my heart is not recoverable by You as You make us a promise here that You can make our hearts blameless in holiness before our God. Thank You so much for this promise, Father. I know I still have a lot of work to do in my life, but I know that with Your love for me that all things are possible, so I look forward to the day that my heart is truly healed and restored to Your glory and Your holiness. Thank You for this amazing promise about my heart.
ATTITUDE (verse 12): This is a tough one for me, but I do know I need to change my ways. You say here that You want us to increase AND overflow with love for one another. Not only should I be increasing in Your love in myself, but I should also be allowing Your love to overflow out of me to others. I am getting better at this, but I do still struggle at times. When frustrations begin to increase, I often give into my anger and irritability instead of Your love. When those around me are not doing what I feel they should be doing for Your kingdom, I often fail to default to Your love. Help me to truly embrace and walk in the Spirit of Love in my life, Father, so that Your love overflows to all around me and not my fleshly ways.
COMMAND (verses 12-13): Going back to these two verses, I do see Your commands sprinkled throughout. I see You telling us to live in and embrace Your love so much that it overflows out of us to those around us. I see You telling us to allow Your healing and restoration to occur over our hearts, so that it can be filled with Your grace, Your love, Your joy, and Your holiness. I have struggled with these in my life since coming to faith, Father. I find myself wanting to always be in control of my own healing and restoration instead of releasing those past burdens and pains to You. In the times that I have released things to You, I have found an unexplainable healing and restoration through You that I could not fathom, so I know of the power You have over my heart’s healing. I also know that You are always there, waiting for me to ask, yet allowing me to control the amount of inflow You provide. Thank You for this, Father. Thank You for never leaving my side even though I have been extremely rebellious in my spiritual journey. Please continue Your works in me, so that I can follow these commands daily in my life for Your glory and praise, not my own.
EXAMPLE (verses 2-5): Paul’s opening paragraph in this letter shows me just how human he actually is at times. He deeply cares for those that he’s been called to testify and speak Your truth to. His heart is huge for them so much so that he also feels a heavy burden on their salvation and spiritual journey. He was being painfully persecuted, yet he was concerned about the spiritual journey of the Thessalonians and did not want his persecution to be a vice for the tempter to lead them astray. Yes, he still went to You frequently throughout all of this, but his human side had doubts and resulted in him sending Timothy to, I guess, validate that the Thessalonians were still on Your path. This is a powerful example to me because it shows me that even the great Paul gave into his flesh at times when it comes to worry. I do worry at times for others, such as my wife, but I also am reminded that I am not in control of anyone but myself. I need to remain vigilant in my own spiritual journey to ensure I do not stray while at the same time providing Your truth and Your love to others so that they can hopefully keep themselves within Your will for their lives. Thank You for this lesson, Father.
*DAILY NOTE: Paul never ceases to amaze me in his testimony through Your word. He shows us that even those who are considered righteous and holy enough to be a vessel for Your truth and Your word can still have “human” moments. Although Paul was used as a vessel for Your truth, he is still a broken vessel who is simply trying to remain on Your spiritual path for his life while attempting to give into the temptation of the flesh and enemy less-and-less as he matures in his faith. Help me to be like this, Father. I know I am broken and weak, but I also know that through You I am given restoration and strength to overcome all of life’s challenges. I may sometimes need a reminder, but I know that You are always there for me if I just turn to You in those moments. Thank You, Father, for always being by my side to give me reminders, instruction, and counsel when I need and ask for it.
EXPAND TO READ: GENERAL NOTE FOR MY QUIET TIMES
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