After sharing so much on consistency and accountability, I took a pause from posting for much longer than intended. Through this time, life brought me through many ups and downs: victories, failures, loss, love, and revelation. There have been many lessons learned and some I am still trying to understand. My last post before this break shared my struggle with keeping Jesus as my first love, too often caught up in life. This is what the enemy wants, to keep us looking inward at our wants, feelings, and desires; but inward is the gateway to selfishness.
Selflessness on the other hand is what Jesus demonstrated every day. “…Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me,” (Matthew 25:40, NKJV). And I must ask myself, ‘What am I doing for the least of these?’ Honestly, there is so much need that it can be overwhelming. There are so many hurting people, and just one of me, often hurting in my own way. It is only through the leading and discernment of the Holy Spirit that I can be effective. Sometimes God wants us to wait and pray, other times He wants us to act.
As I shared last week God has been impressing upon me to be steadfast, this means sticking to my priorities. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said: “But let your ‘yes’ be ‘yes,’ and your ‘no,’ ‘no.’ For whatever is more than these is from the evil one,” (Matthew 5:37, NKJV). Every ‘yes’ is a ‘no’ to something or someone else. We cannot say “yes” to everything, we must establish boundaries and protect ourselves.
Jesus Understood this and took time to rest, He did not always say yes, and he did not break His promises or make excuses. But He did always say “yes” to His Heavenly Father. If we are to live according to the Word, a good place to start is, “yes Lord!” This often means doing the hard things, the things we don’t want to do. It means sacrificing comfort for discipline, busyness for rest, distraction for attention. It means letting go of our to-do lists and embracing what is truly important.
By modeling this in the way He lived Jesus taught us to seek His Kingdom first, to love one another, to be prepared. He demonstrated the importance of boundaries and spending time alone with the Father. He loved people well and stayed engaged and in the moment throughout His ministry on earth. While I may grapple with when to say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ Jesus points us to the greatest priority, our relationship with Him.
A relationship with our Maker takes intentionality, next week we will hear from another dear friend of mine as we begin unpacking the L in BALM, Living intentionally. Consider if your life reflects intentional living. Does your walk reflect Christ? Are you willing to say, “Yes Lord!” Please share your comments.
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Blessings!