What one does consistently, over time, determines the outcome of their endeavor. Even the Great Wall of China started with one stone being placed upon another. Small beginnings are not to be discounted. The Word itself tells us not to despise small beginnings, for the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. If all you have is five minutes to start, it is better that you take those five minutes and come before the Lord in prayer and supplication than if you hadn’t.
More often than not, telling ourselves we are waiting for the
perfect time to come before God, or waiting for a few hours of uninterrupted
solitude when we can really press in, is veiled procrastination on our part.
Unless you live on a mountaintop with all your needs tended to by others, with
no children, no pets, no job, and no external pressures, there will never be a
perfect time. There will never be a day when something isn’t pressing, when
things don’t need to get done, or when life is so carefree and absent
distraction that prayer is all you have on your mind.
If we keep putting off being in God’s presence and spending
time in prayer until the perfect moment arrives, we’ll be spinning our wheels
for a long time, and likely until we breathe our last. The ideal moment is now.
Even with the laughing children, the neighbor making all kinds of racket on his
riding mower, the smoke detector beeping, letting you know it’s running out of
battery, the perfect moment is still now.
If you want to keep a fire burning, it must be tended to
consistently. If once the fire is ignited, nothing is done, eventually it will
turn to embers, then smoke, then fizzle out altogether. Given that there are
multiple warnings within Scripture about the fire of our first love being in
danger of fizzling out and no longer being what it once was, it is incumbent
upon us as individuals to make sure that it is being fed and nurtured to the
point that it continues to burn bright no matter what circumstances we may be
confronted with day to day.
Is today cloudy and overcast? Tend to the fire. Is today
bright and sunny? Tend to the fire. Is it dark with no stars in sight? Tend to
the fire. The fire will keep you warm. The fire will keep the wolves at bay.
The fire will be that place of permanence where you know you will find comfort,
peace, and joy.
Some days will be easier than others to keep the fire
burning. Some days it will seem downright impossible, and the pull of everyday
life will be so strong as to almost convince you that nothing untoward will
happen if you leave the fire untended for a day or two. Then, two days turn
into ten, and by the time you get around to checking on the fire, it’s all but
embers, barely giving off any heat, and all but out.
The further one draws away from the fire, the easier and more
probable it becomes that they will stumble and fall, trip on an upturned stone
or an unseen root. The less bright the fire burns, the bolder the predators and
wolves will become because it was the fire that kept them away, and not your
intimidating stature.
Some men have convinced themselves that it’s their own
strength that is keeping the enemy at bay. They’ve talked themselves into
believing that they are what the enemy fears and not the presence of God in
them. As such, they have no qualms about placing other endeavors ahead of
ensuring that their relationship with God is vibrant and active, and once that
spiral reaches its final iteration, they discover that in and of themselves,
they have no strength to speak of, and the enemy they believed feared them
doesn’t.
It is impossible to claim the authority of God while walking
in rebellion and disobedience to Him. It is an illusion, if not an outright
delusion, and though men may convince themselves that they can blaze their own
trail, make their own way, and circumvent God’s commands, it is only for a
season. Eventually, the truth will out. Eventually, the mask will slip, the
weakness will be evident, and the syrupy words they spoke in their attempt to convince
the masses that they were spiritual juggernauts will be seen by all to be a
self-serving lie.
The reason some choose to feign obedience rather than obey is
because true obedience presupposes total surrender, and that is something they
cannot abide. It’s hard for men with dreams and aspirations, delusions of
grandeur, and the belief that they are the singular individual through whom all
spiritual knowledge flows, to humble themselves and submit to God in all
things.
Where God sends you may not be where your flesh wants to go.
What God tasks you with may be deemed beneath your abilities by your inner
monologue. If your purpose, however, is obedience, then you will do as God
commands, go where He leads, and put your hand to the plow whether the sun is
shining or the rain is pouring.
Be unconcerned with whether your obedience will be noticed by
your contemporaries, be unconcerned whether or not doing as God commands will
garner you the praise of men, or if it will somehow elevate you. Obey God in all
things because it is your duty as a son or daughter to do so. Be humble enough
to do the menial tasks others scoff at, knowing that it is the act of obedience
itself that God remembers, and your reward will not be small.
The less time we spend in God’s presence, the easier it
becomes to stray from obedience in all things. The less time we spend in prayer
and communion with Him, the easier it becomes for the whispers to creep in and
trouble our spirit, keeping us from pursuing the excellency of knowing Christ in
all His wonder and glory.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
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