Just a couple of years ago a woman died as she crossed the finish line of a marathon. She was a wife, and a mother to four children. I do not know her personally and I do not know much at all about her life, but I want to use what happened as an example. On the outside she looked to be fit and healthy and everything appeared fine physically. But obviously there was something happening inside of her that was deadly.
Did you know that spiritually we can look good on the outside, but on the inside some real deadly stuff is going on? On the outside we may appear strong, fit and healthy... and all the while we are spiritually malnourished and not exercising God's Word in the least.
It's so easy to just "do what we've always done". It's quite effortless if we just live life with auto-pilot on and just soar through the days the best we know how. On the outside we're looking pretty healthy, we've learned to just say and do the right things. It's called, "going through the motions". We know the phrases that sound spiritual. We know the very acts that cause us to appear healthy and strong before men. It's like what it says in Matthew 15:8, "This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me....in vain they do worship me...."
We go to church. We tell people we're praying for them. We don't cuss. We dress modestly. We smile a lot. We shake hands. We sing hymns. We teach the kids. We put dinner on the table. We do the house chores. We help our husbands. We attend special church meetings...
.....the list goes on.
.....and on
...of all the things that we potentially do on auto-pilot. We do those things because we've done those things for years. We can even read our Bibles and pray daily on auto-pilot.
Don't get my wrong. These are things we should be doing. Absolutely. But think of the verse in Matthew and ask yourself, "While I am doing these things is my heart far from God?"
I fear that we aren't daily asking God to search us, and know us, and show us who we truly are. What areas of my life need change? What area are my intentions wrong? What are the times I say I'll pray for someone and then dont? What areas am I filled with pride and trying to do things apart from God? What times do I do things only to benefit myself? What areas am I doing it all right......but my heart is just far from him!?
I've been challenged for the past two weeks to be very intentional in my living for the Lord. The book of Haggai, God tells the people to, "Consider" their ways. I don't want to appear healthy before men. I want to be healthy before God. We know that man looks on the outward appearance and it's God that looks upon our hearts.... yet we are quick to impress others and forget all about how we really appear before God. We ALL do this. And if we start to think we're doing much better than most, then we probably arent...."If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." 1 John 1:8 A.W. Tower said, "A pharisee is hard on others and easy on himself, but a spiritual man is easy on others and hard on himself". It's easy to see what everyone else is doing wrong. But it's so hard to see it in our own lives. We must ask God to search us and show us.
I don't want my heart to be far from God. I don't want to look healthy on the outside, spiritually, but be malnourished, dying, unhealthy and delusional on the inside. So, I've been challenging myself to live and serve intentionally...to consider my ways. I'm asking God to search me. Not because he doesn't know everything last thing about me already, but because I want Him to show me the areas that I do not intentionally live for Him and serve Him. It's not that he is keeping these things hidden from us...it's that we don't usually want to know or see them. But when we do begin to recognize these areas ..... Wow! We realize even more how incredibly gracious, loving and merciful our wonderful God is to us!
Some good scriptures for the week:
Haggai 1
Isaiah 29:13
Matthew 15:8
1 John 1
Psalm 139
Psalm 119:9
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