"...lest strangers take their fill of your strength, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner, and at the end of your life you groan, when your flesh and body are consumed."
proverbs 5:10-11
We belong to His Kingdom, we're slaves of His righteousness, colaboring in His work.
As we journey towards Christ, we increasingly become more and more interested and invested in His purposes. Our lives progress towards becoming more and more focused on worshipping Him and devoting our lives to His Kingdom come. We get better at leveraging life to elevate Him.
When we stop abiding, though, we let "strangers take their fill of our strength." we are momentarily (for the amount of time we walk away from the Spirit) stopping our Kingdom work.
We're slacking workers on the clock.
This is the Message translation of v. 10: "Why should you allow strangers to take advantage of you? Why be exploited by those who care nothing for you?"
When I fail to remain in Christ, I sin - I'm giving myself to something that doesn't love me. God and His Kingdom is NOT the side that profits. My life is NOT being used for Him.
Why do I let Satan profit from even a second of my labor?! Why do I use any of my vapor of a life to advance evil; idolize money, position, sex, myself; not worship my all-deserving God; and by all these actions confuse others who - with critical eyes - watch my life as I proclaim to live for Christ but don't.
I am so discouraged as I watch myself get distracted away from the amazing peace in Christ, where I KNOW i am supposed to STAY, and where I love being.
can you guys please pray for me in trying to be disciplined in scheduling and structuring my time. That I would schedule in a way that's protective of my well-being with God more than anything else that fills up my time. I have been seeing that a lot of distractions are rooted in this.
God, would you make us hate our lives away from you. Would we feel so depressed, scared, and unstable outside of you. Would you let us taste your Glory so richly that being outside of it makes us freak out. Help us to STAY in You.
Dude! I completely relate and am a victim to this sin, also. Particularly the part about wasting time and allowing distractions that aren't pleasing/glorifying to Him to take my eyes off the Kingdom and Jesus' path for me. I feel like this is a result of letting our guard down when we enter a season of either following the Lord with crazy faith(and therefore being attacked by the enemy and facing opposition) or when we enter a season of harvest and when we feel sin is far away. We must not become proud. Praying for you brother Billy!
ReplyDelete"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you."
1 Peter 5:8-10 esv
dude. Billy, this post was dead on to what i'm going through! you're an awesome writer dude! concise and straight to the point. your first paragraph was so rad. The Lord has been showing me ways in which i check him in at the desk; my thoughts, words, and actions that result from not walking in the Spirit. As my desire and hunger for the Lord grows and strengthens, the more i want to just tie those things to a rock and throw them in the ocean. great post billy this really spoke to me. so rad to see your heart glowing for the Lord and your wisdom being awesomely written down in your posts :)
ReplyDeleteTotally praying for you! A lot to digest. Praying that God will help you refine your focus and discipline.
ReplyDelete"Would you let us taste your Glory so richly that being outside of it makes us freak out. Help us to STAY in You. "
ReplyDeleteI love this. I am struggling with this right now. I'm scared I don't know how to fully devote my life to him and what would happen if I do. Thanks for your post and securing in me that others feel the way I do and that we are all here to support each other.
ah, billy, i just don't know. i absolutely see what you're saying, but at the same time a part of me feels like another interpretation of this is that we're only to be loving and kind or work toward those who show it back to us? or those who are also working toward good? and i'm just not sure how i reconcile that to the idea. do my questions make any sense?
ReplyDeletepraying praying praying.
ReplyDeleteBilly, I am also praying for you. Discipline is so important but so hard to do! But acknowledging that you need discipline or a refocusing of discipline is a HUGE step in the right direction! It's scary how much truth there is in what you said about giving time to Satan. I think this prayer to remain found in Christ and to focus in Him is relevant to everyone. Thank you for this post.
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