Sorry I'm late, but I just came back from a fantastic mission trip in Arizona! It was amazing and God really showed up in that time. Praise the Lord!
Having just been on the mission trip, the topic of 'study' seems quite fitting since that was a huge part of the trip for me. Coincidence? I think not...
Studying the Word has been so influential in my walk with Christ. It's been said before, but I'll say it again: the Bible is an essential part of a person's relationship with Christ. It's the direct Word of God all wrapped up in a nice little package for us. In other words, it's the Instruction Manual for Life.
Something that caught my eye was the line at the beginning saying that the Spiritual Disciplines aim at replacing old destructive habits of thought with new life-giving habits. This really wrung true for me because on my journey as a follower of Christ, I've definitely faced this kind of situation. God continually takes my sinful habits and finds ways of getting rid of them, a chief way as of recent being the blessing of a serving heart. Ever since Barney training I've been praying for that to prepare myself to fully serve this summer and lo and behold, He has come through! I'll continue to pray and give thanks to Him for such a great gift.
Another interesting point which came to me was of what a habit is in our behavior: a pattern. Not too long ago while discussing human nature, my mom told me that over her lifetime she's observed that people seem to have patterns, or habits, and that more often then not, they will stick with them. These can be good or bad, but this is where Christ comes in. When we study Him and His ways, He gives us the power to change any destructive patterns we may have, including relational issues, poor decisions, and pretty much everything else, all we must do is choose to change and ask for His help. If that isn't cool, I don't know what is!
Something that I'm not really sure of and would love to have your guys' input on is how to keep something that is a huge focus of your life from becoming your object of worship. This came to me in reading Stef Woodruff's post about her problems with studying. For some of us, we'll be heading off to college this fall and will be starting studies on our topic of interest or giftedness. While it won't be an issue for all people, it'll be very hard for me to keep myself from letting my academic studies over take my studies of Him since I'll be a music performance major, a major that requires a lot of focus, discipline, and time. Since I've been blessed with musical ability and want to pursue it, this is a natural step forward, but it also presents me with a challenge to keep music from being my idol. What do you guys think are good ways to keep focused on God and His righteousness?
Hope you guys have a splendid week! Au revoir!
Evan, I love that you asked that question. I've been actually thinking a lot about that as well. To be honest, you will probably deal with the struggles of putting school before the Lord often. Like it said previously we are prone to worship something and often times its the wrong thing. What I've been encouraged by is actively insuring that I'm pursuing the Lord the first thing in the morning. I find that this allows me to daily remind myself & transform my thinking back on the Lord. I've found that days I do this sets my focus for the day, days I don't I fall so easy into worshiping everything else. That would be my suggestion.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it's important to remind yourself continually what is more important and that
ultimately it is the Lord that has gifted you in music and supplied you with
With the opprotunity to study music. He is the giver of good things and by focusing on Him you are honoring that gift. I'm still figuring this all out myself and its a life long surendering and lesson. Let me know what you discover in your searching this out. Thanks Evan!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Stef. I struggle with that dilemma also and I liked her suggestion. I find that when I am putting God first and having quiet times in the morning, I am still focusing on school, but I am not as bummed when I do poorly on a test or something like that because I have the big picture in mind. It's part of God's purpose that I am in college, but it is also His purpose that I further His Kingdom and use my time at school to reach out to others who are struggling and lead them to Christ.
ReplyDelete