Pearls of Great Value

Have you ever found yourself down a road and  nothing looks right? You thought you’d taken the right path but then found out, that no, this is totally wrong. And you just wasted an hour or so going the wrong direction? Yep, I agree, that’s frustrating. I was thinking about this, and thought that sometimes in life we find ourselves doing the same thing. We made a wrong turn, a bad choice, and found ourselves in a place we never intended to be at. And just like you would have to stop the car, take time to figure out where you went wrong and how to get back to where you want to be, you have to take time aside in your day to hear the wisdom of God to correct the course of your life. It’s called a course correction. The question is what would that look like? 

I believe that it starts with discipline. Many of us don’t like the word discipline, because it puts responsibility on us to do something. We have to admit, sometimes we as Christians get a little lazy, a little too complacent with the status quo. We live in a world where everything comes a little too easily. We have the world at our fingertips and yes, we are a spoiled generation that hasn’t seen much hardship. The way has been paved for us to walk on and we are harvesting the fruits of hard labor of a generation before us. I am not afraid of acknowledging that. But I also believe that for us, there’s a calling as well. I believe we are the generation that will be the momentum into living all out for God with no reservations. We will be the ones who will bring the hunger back to the church, and revive the bride from her slumber. It’s on us to see the vision of God in our hearts and to bring it into being. It’s on us to awaken and to be what we are believing for. The reason we are never satisfied? Is because God has planted the need and longing for more in the fabric of our generation. More of God, more of His glory revealed on earth, more of His love penetrating hearts, more of His light piercing the darkness, more of His truth to break bondages and bring freedom. We are also a generation that questions a lot of what’s going on around us. Some may say it’s a rebellious attitude but I dare to say it’s because deep down we believe that there is a better way. We can see the faults and failures and aren’t content to leave it that way. 

We. Are. Created. For. More. 

 What I pray for this generation, more than anything, I pray that we will come to the point where we will no longer be distracted by, well,...literally everything. ‘Cause distraction is  leading us down wrong paths. I pray for us to realize our potential, our strength, our God given gifts! Man, if we could collectively just put focus on God, on seeking His kingdom and His will to be done here on earth? It would be breathtakingly beautiful and powerful. 

 But you know what, there’s not going to be change if we don’t discipline ourselves! There’s not going to be more if we continue to be complacent. There’s not going to be revival, if we don’t revive our hearts. If we can’t be a disciple of Jesus in our personal time, how will we bring discipleship into the world around us? I challenge you to do a study on discipleship. This word has so much depth to it. It’s being able to form relationships as Jesus did, to mentor others in the truth, to help build character, it’s studying the Word of God together, it’s taking time to make sure there is transformation, it’s committed to not only being a follower of Jesus but also to be a teacher and leader that serves and disciples others to be followers as well. Discipleship is what we need, both in our lives and to bring change to the world. 

 There’s always going to be something we need correction on, and some habits we need to form to have a more solid character. How are we going to get those if we aren’t able to discipline ourselves towards it? The truth is, your not. You are not moving in new direction, to a better you, if you’re not willing to make adjustments. And it’s not that hard! It’s not. Just 15 minutes a day in the Word is already a discipline that will help to change the course. One that will be a domino tipping over a lot of other dominos. And soon those 15 min? Will turn into hours of soaking in His goodness, because once you get a taste of Him you’ll never get enough. Just one taste is enough to bring change. Think about the possibilities if you get a whole meal, than several more!

 Old habits? They die hard. There’s no way the flesh wants to surrender and give in. That’s why discipline is so important. We literally have to train our mind and body to a new way of living. And that takes time. Quality time. Because the old way of living is simply not the God way of living. The two are worlds apart. And until we bring our mind and body into submission to the Word, it’s gonna be a little tough. It’s gonna require a bit of stubborn resistance and a whole lot of responsibility on our part to stay the course once we have been corrected. Stay the course! I promise, you will not only see a big difference, but one day you won’t have to fight old habits anymore and it gets easier traveling this path. 

 Praise God, for course correction! Praise God, that by his grace, we can turn around and walk in a new direction. God is your greatest cheerleader!  At your lowest moment I pray that you will know this, He is there beside you, not with condemnation but with encouragement. He is so often moved by compassion to the needs of His children. He’s thrilled when we pick ourselves up and shrug off the dust and begin again. He’s clapping and saying, You can do this! I know you can! 

 Ask God to show you those areas in your heart and mind that need correction. Maybe he’s asking you to be a little nicer to someone. Maybe there’s a nudge in your heart to be a better friend. Or it could even be to just be still and quiet and wait on the Lord in a certain situation. Or to stop doing a certain thing. Those could all be a little course correction in preparing your heart for a bigger purpose. 

 The more we spend time with God, looking to Him for direction, the more we see and know the right paths to take. Our focus needs to be on Him. I can’t emphasize that enough. If you’re not wanting to do the right and read the Word, it’s totally because you’ve missed the love of God. If you and I don’t know the love of the Father, if we don’t see in our heart His goodness, we will not want to be with Him. We will not want to be disciplined by Him. It’s that simple. Ask Holy Spirit to reveal to you the love of God for you, ask for a revelation and then seek after it. Don’t quit. Don’t quit! This is the biggest truth that Satan doesn’t want you to know. Because he knows it is a life changing truth. Once a believer has a revelation of how deep the Fathers love, there’s no turning back. I love the response of the disciples of Jesus, in John 6 when after a huge chunk of his followers left Him, Jesus asked the 12, “will you also leave me?” You know what Peter replies? He basically says, “Where would we go? You have that which we need!” You see, this is the response of a true disciple. Even when times get tough, even when you don’t quite understand, you trust the Father. You stay the course because you know deep inside that the way of Jesus is true and right and eternal. You don’t turn aside from Him when He asks for the hard things, because as a disciple you believe that following Him leads to life, and being loved and loving Him in return is the answer. Yes, it’s true, love is the answer. Let me say it again. God is love and He is the answer. Let him guide you through life, let His wisdom lead you on the right path!