Living in Balance

This blog is designed to give people an inner look at a devotional life. Taking time each day to spend time with the Lord. The hope is if you travel on this journey with Rev. Jacob Shaw, you may be more inclined to spend time with the Lord as well. I encourage the use of a devotional, a scripture reading and prayer, then finally a song, hymn or selection of poetry to tie it all together. 

Today's devotional is taken from: Vujicic, Nick. Limitless Devotions for a Ridiculously Good Life. Colorado Springs, CO: Waterbrook Press, 2013. pp 144-146.

Opening Thought: I really enjoyed the challenge Vujicic offers to his readers for today reflection. We all want to be happy to some degree, thought I often think contentment is a better emotion, and  in addition to that happiness, I hope many of you want to have a life where you have lived for the will of God. So if you could sit at your own funeral, and hear how your friends and family member spoke about you, and they looked back on your life and love, what story would they tell? When you put yourself at the end, and imagine you have achieved your goals, you can look back towards yourself, to where you are now, and imagine what it would take to reach those goals. This is a wonderful tool for goal setting but also for spiritual growth, because we all have God calling us to a future where we have served Him well, what would the you that served God well in life look like, what would your life had been? And, most importantly, are there any changes you need to make to help that future come true.

The devotional begins with: Psalm 119:1-8 [MSG]

You’re blessed when you stay on course,
    walking steadily on the road revealed by God.
You’re blessed when you follow his directions,
    doing your best to find him.
That’s right—you don’t go off on your own;
    you walk straight along the road he set.
You, God, prescribed the right way to live;
    now you expect us to live it.
Oh, that my steps might be steady,
    keeping to the course you set;
Then I’d never have any regrets
    in comparing my life with your counsel.
I thank you for speaking straight from your heart;
    I learn the pattern of your righteous ways.
I’m going to do what you tell me to do;
    don’t ever walk off and leave me.

Second Thought:

If thinking about the end of your life make you too sad to do this exercise, try this instead. Imagine you and Jesus were about to become fused together in one person. All the details of your life as in who you are, your gifts, talents and interests stay the same, but now you are operating at peak moral and spiritual efficiency. What would that new Jesus inspired you look like, how would you go out into the world as Jesus did to make a difference. Obviously, this exercise is just a game for the mind to play, but as we know, play helps us grow and learn new skills. Maybe when you are one with Christ your love of cooking could lead you to bake pies for the homeless. Or maybe your skills with carpentry would help the poor who can’t afford to repair homes in disrepair. When our definition is collided with the inspiration of Christ our output into this world will be so much more beneficial. So find a mind game that works for you to envision your best self, and let that image inspire you to move more towards God. .   .    

Continual Work: There are a lot of little trick you can do to help map out how you get from point A to B. The trick is that the end goals can be a big change and big changes do not happen as fast as we like them to. So if your end goal feels to big and to far away, use that image to make stepping stone goals, little things you can do everyday which will build a staircase to that day in the future where you have reached your long term life goals.

What Rev. Jacob is Working On: I have always like the image of a man who walks with God. If I heard those words at my funeral, that would give me peace. My image of my end self is simple that way, it can be summed up shortly, but it gives me much to work towards.

Scripture time: Psalm 119:9-16

 How can a young person live a clean life?

    By carefully reading the map of your Word.

I’m single-minded in pursuit of you;

    don’t let me miss the road signs you’ve posted.

I’ve banked your promises in the vault of my heart

    so I won’t sin myself bankrupt.

Be blessed, God;

    train me in your ways of wise living.

I’ll transfer to my lips

    all the counsel that comes from your mouth;

I delight far more in what you tell me about living

    than in gathering a pile of riches.

I ponder every morsel of wisdom from you,

    I attentively watch how you’ve done it.

I relish everything you’ve told me of life,

    I won’t forget a word of it.

Okay, to fair warning… sometimes when we make a goal to become better, and uses Christ as are exemplar we can make one fundamental error. We put ourselves in Christ’s place. Often, we look to see God and what we really seeing is just are selves painted as divine. So, if you really wish to better yourselves in a spiritual and faithful way you have to be willing to let go of the self and seek God first. This is very challenging as we are also trying to heal the self. This is why I believe it is always good to have a community of faith, and specifically and smaller cluster of people to work with as a unit, confide in your spiritual ambitions with each other and allow yourselves to be a sounding board for the other.     

Closing Words: I hope you enjoyed and were lifted by this devotional time; it is truly important to take time for God each day. By doing so, you welcome God into your life, and in turn you will be able to better see the world through the eyes of God, rather than God through the world's eyes.

Artistic Close: We end with a familiar expression “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Or an alternate “A journey of a thousand miles starts beneath one’s feet”