WALKING WITH THE LORD
Genesis 17:1-3, Philippians 3:10
People are strategic about everything they want to accomplish, notwithstanding they lack plans to know the God that knows their imperfection. They get frustrated after all effort exerted in their cause of planning. Take for eg, If we want to loose weight or attain a particular status in our goals and achievement we follow some specific orders as given by our coach or mentor. I can remember in my life, I was so passionate about my soccer career and my dream to be a great professional, I persistently with a lot of focus and time disciplined myself and work tirelessly even when I was a on the verge of giving up, notwithstanding I would still summoned courage and say I can do it and before you know I am on to it. Specifically there was this set day I came from training, so exhausted that I fell on a bench right before my apartment to rest not knowing it wasn't my bed and my grand mom woke me and said son, why are you exerting much pressure into this soccer of yours, don't you have other specific things to do like getting a job or school certificate and I was upset and ignored her like a common saying goes 'What concerns conductor or car loader with overload or others might say while are you taking panadol for my headache. To cut a long story short I was affected with an eyes effection due to the much pressure and not properly feeding well, however a closer associate of like mind (soccer player like myself) on narrating my ordeal to him, quickly told me agitatively in my face stop wasting time, can't you see with all your effort you aren't getting any further, go and look for job. I said to my self, I don't need advice from anyone again acknowledging the fact that no one sees my passion nor feels my pain, therefore i set up a new plan of prioritising Him (Jesus) and by His grace I was able to come up as a proffessional soccer player in the subsequent years of my career. Why am I revealing this , like many of us planning and strategising for a better future until we develop a closer relationship with the Lord , we might be victims of the wrong crowd. I had a great passion but my motivation and mandate has to change from self to God's. Proverb 19:21 straightly puts it God is more interested and willing to perform His will for your life than your motive. No matter how beautiful and glamoring your motive can be if it is void of the prioritise order of the Lord it will all amount to frustration and at most regrets. I was listening to an ordeal of a mom and what hapoen to her kid. They went to a specific restaurant and the child requested for fried cat fish and when it was brought before him with smiles he looks up and questioned the waitress "Excuse me madam, is this fish from cat and everyone including my very self was laughing and he was infuriated and frustratedly weeping. Like every one of us we are sometimes like that kid because though we ask but our question is totally out of place we dont recieve answer from God, note James says we ask but arent recieving because we ask amiss and like Mathew 6:33: puts it
Seek ye first the kingdom of God, then every other things shall be yours. Paul understood that and said in Philippians 1:21, Life is meaningless without God being the anchor, therefore he sought out a strategy. He purposed in his heart a strategic plan order of discipline with the Lord (philippians 3:10). Note these plans of yours with the Lord don't neccesarily have to be a law, moreover if it is not implemented in a set way don't get discouraged or dissappointed because that's the deception of the devil to get you guilty. Accordingly, the Lord requirements for you as sons and daughters to prioritise Him in your all day life; be it in the secret or the secular. Like I specifically stated about the motivation and mandate, let me explain a lil bit more on that. The motivation is the Lord Jesus our perfect example (1st Peter 2:20-22, Colossians 3:17). As being our perfect example we are mandated not a choice for a believer to always align or sync our plans and objective via prioritising Him. Get this straight the devil is out to discourage us and get us to feel guilty that probably we aren't spending hours like we used to means God isn't with us or our prayers and worship haven't been accepted. Take for instance a single mother who grows to be a married wife with four kids and prior to her marraige she used to spent more hours with the Lord but because of the kids and husband to cater to has shortlive her hours to maybe 15min or less than that and now because of the time factor, the devil keeps making her to believe that you arent His own, why waste your time, you can as well join me and lets get busier and disregard this religious rite. But I have good news for someone if you are such person and it seems like before when you worship God you feel those veins on your back neck standing but now you don't feel anymore and you wants to give up, please note God is always with you and know your status has changed and He isn't that particular about quantitative time spend but the quality given not with familiarity but value acknowledging Him first and believe He's your all and all you can ever be, even if it is just to say Help me Lord, have mercy on me Lord with a diligent heart whether in your secret or secular time, He will be there for you. Let some one join me and shout Halleluiah!!!
The mandate speaks of the quality, not being the best but at your best. Your very best comes with passion, like I share my ordeal with you, I was so passionate about the game, that I was prepare to give my all to it and one thing I realise today with my walk with the Lord and that of my passion for my career is this, God's call upon my life didn't rob me of my passion but my motive and mandate was change, so in other words whether you have increase in status or decrease, you need to keep your relationship very tight with the Lord, therefore making Him first and giving your very best for His glory and for the benefits of your world around you.
Again if you are going to walk with Him, passion and time is so pivotal with regards your approach. Why would you be jealous of someone who has a thing, if you aren't willing to do those inviolable things he did to get that thing. In Proverbs 18:7, I paraphrase, seeking God early and diligently literally speaks of time and metaphorically emphasizes on passion. What you are passionate about consume you entirely, leaving an expression on your look and approach that glitters whenever you are into it. It may not be obvious to you but others can easily tell. May the Lord make you passionate about Him this season in your walk with Him in Jesus name. Your depth in relationship with the Lord will increase if you spend time with Him intimately. Jesus said in John 16:7&13, it is expedient, which He meant it is to your advantage because the Spirit is going to highlights those written words in the scripture as you inscribe them upon your heart while He brings out the manifestation in your life. You don't need to be at a particular place to have that but everywhere you acknowledge His Lordship. Conversely in Hebrews 8:10-12, God through the Holy Spirit that lives in you as a believer (Eph 1:13) will help you to live and walk perfectly before the Lord if and only if you yield to Him accordingly. In so doing you don't necessarily have to locate a particular , sanctify altar nor do you prayer have to be said in a fancy way or the complexity of your words neither the eloquence of your utterances. You can come up with help me Lord, or father you are all have today, just lead me in the way I will not fail you, or take a particular scripture, maybe paste to where you can keep picturing it as you meditate and seek for His guidance in it. The world today is so obessed with quantity thus devaluing quality. In your walk with the Lord, your priority and not familiarity is qualitatively inviolable before Him. Luke 10:38-42
Of what significance will it be to have someone in your presence that is ignored all day? The psalmist concluded it all in His prayer to the Lord (ps 27:4-6), Let your passion consumes me entirely as you bless and preserve me.
Father, help me to be passionately strategic with my walk with you daily.
