Sincere and Pure Devotion: Do No Lose Heart
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ ~2 Corinthians 11:3
How is it that a person decides to commit to something and starts out with enthusiasm unbound only to eventually fall behind and waver in what seemed to be a strong commitment? I am fairly sure that I am not the only person who has decided to commitment to something that will bring me closer to God only to disappoint myself in how much time I actually end up devoting to it.
Unlike Eve, we don't have actually serpents slithering around, trying to convince us to stray away from God. Things are more subtle now that we can easily miss the influences that take us away from God. In my case, it was life. It was commitments to other things, procrastination, mismanagement of time and just plain old laziness. For the life of me, I cannot fathom how I could not find 15 minutes a day to stay commited to my devotions.
Easter is only three days away and I am 16 days behind in the daily readings for Purpose Driven Life. Not only am I behind in my reading but I also am even further behind in writing up anything. Do I love God any less? Of course not. If anything, this should be a reason to love Him more because He has not left me or forsaken me. Unfortunately, it is disappointing to realize that even with the best of intentions and a plan that seems reasonable, I can get caught up in daily life and push Jesus to the side.
Nevertheless, we cannot lose heart.
Prayer adapted from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
God, help me not to lose heart. Though outwardly I am wasting away, yet inwardly I know I can be renewed day by day. For my light and momentary troubles are achieving for me an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So I fix my eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
How is it that a person decides to commit to something and starts out with enthusiasm unbound only to eventually fall behind and waver in what seemed to be a strong commitment? I am fairly sure that I am not the only person who has decided to commitment to something that will bring me closer to God only to disappoint myself in how much time I actually end up devoting to it.
Unlike Eve, we don't have actually serpents slithering around, trying to convince us to stray away from God. Things are more subtle now that we can easily miss the influences that take us away from God. In my case, it was life. It was commitments to other things, procrastination, mismanagement of time and just plain old laziness. For the life of me, I cannot fathom how I could not find 15 minutes a day to stay commited to my devotions.
Easter is only three days away and I am 16 days behind in the daily readings for Purpose Driven Life. Not only am I behind in my reading but I also am even further behind in writing up anything. Do I love God any less? Of course not. If anything, this should be a reason to love Him more because He has not left me or forsaken me. Unfortunately, it is disappointing to realize that even with the best of intentions and a plan that seems reasonable, I can get caught up in daily life and push Jesus to the side.
Nevertheless, we cannot lose heart.
Prayer adapted from 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
God, help me not to lose heart. Though outwardly I am wasting away, yet inwardly I know I can be renewed day by day. For my light and momentary troubles are achieving for me an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So I fix my eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
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