Genesis 5:24a - Enoch walked with God…
The test of a man’s religious life and character is not what he does in the exceptional moments of life, but what he does in the ordinary times, when there is nothing tremendous or exciting on. The worth of a man is revealed in his attitude to ordinary things when he is not before the footlights.
The truth about the state of our faith is revealed not on Sunday morning when we sit in church clean and scrubbed and on our best behavior, but rather in our living rooms on Saturday night, in traffic on Monday morning and in the office on Wednesday afternoon. If we were to honestly answer the question: “How do I live out my faith day to day?” does our answer extend beyond where we spend our Sunday mornings?
A runner runs every day, not just on race day. Every day reflects the preparation for that race – the food he eats, the sleep he gets, the training he does. The runner runs whether people are watching or not, whether it is raining or not, whether it is cold or hot. The runner knows that if he wants to be ready for the race, he’s got to do more than simply show up on race day in the right outfit.
Our faith is the same. We have to practice it every single day. Our God is an every day God and our faith should permeate even the most insignificant minutiae of our daily life. We are called to walk with Him regardless of our feelings or our circumstances - or our audience. Sometimes we begin to see our “religious life” as a performance – our “spirituality” becomes a coat we put on or take off dependent upon those around us, but when we do this we are confusing a religion with a relationship. Our “religious life” is a living, breathing relationship with the Almighty God! A God who wants to walk with us through the simplest of our day-to-day tasks, and when we learn to walk with Him through the ordinary times, we are infinitely more prepared for those extraordinary times he may call us to.
Chambers provides further insight:
[God] has different ways of doing things, and we have to be trained and disciplined into His ways. It was said of Jesus – “He shall not fail nor be discouraged,” because He never worked from His own individual standpoint but always from the standpoint of His Father and we have to learn to do the same.
How true this is! We DO need to recognize that many times our plans are nothing more than an inhibition to Gods plans. We often think that WE know the best way to go about something, or that WE know the best timing, the best plan, and we can soon find ourselves second-guessing the wisdom of an all-knowing infinite God – I think we’ve ALL done that. Consider how different the Messiah was from what the Jews expected Him to be. They envisioned him arriving on a fiery horse, overthrowing the Roman Government and claiming the kingdom for the Jews. But God’s plan was not to free them from a political oppression, but a spiritual one! Many did not recognize Jesus as the Messiah because they were so sure they knew what God would do, that they were unable to accept what he actually did when it differed from their expectations. How many of us are so handicapped by our preconceived notions of how God will act, that we fail to see His hand at work right in front of us?
We simply have to learn to live life from the standpoint of the Father – and live it every day.
Ooooohh, Catharine -- I REALLY like the comparison of the runner! He cannot just show up on the day of the race and expect to compete; he may finish the course, but be no competition whatsoever for those who have daily trained and prepared for this day.
ReplyDeleteWe are no threat to Satan if all we do is show up on Sundays. But if we are daily living our lives empowered by the Holy Spirit -- LOOK OUT! We have the power to demolish strongholds!