Commitment

Read: Isaiah 26:3

“Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.” Psalm 37:5

Commitment is a word few take seriously today. If it’s broken, we usually throw it away and get another one, including our relationships. There was a day, when we took things to the Fix It shop or to the counselor to be repaired. Nowadays, we just pitch it and go shopping…looking for a newer and bigger or more powerful model. God gave us the commission to live up to our obligations (Ecclesiastes 5:5), to protect what He gives us (1 Timothy 5:8) and to nurture our relationships (John 13: 34).

We get so caught up at work with meeting deadlines. Our time gets inundated with people we need to see. Then our spare time is taken up with chores at home. The busyness of everyday life consumes our thoughts and actions. We are so tired by the weekend that we resent spending any of it in the house of God. We just stay at home and sleep-in, so that we have enough energy to get back on the treadmill of our daily schedule once Monday rolls around again.

Therefore, before we can ever live such a committed life to others, we must first surrender our life to the Lord. If we continue to pursue our own agenda for our life, then our decisions will all be influenced by our selfish, human tendencies. God calls us to draw intimately closer to Him each day, to live in His presence.

Developing habits of quiet time every day will enable us to hear God's voice. We get our marching orders from Him; and when we do, we start to experience a whole new life as we keep His will in the forefront of our thoughts. Our job is less burdensome and our work flows more smoothly. We interact with people on a deeper level. We care more about the little things that mean so much in life.

Make a commitment to yourself today to surrender your life completely to the will of God. Make the changes He shows you that are necessary and be kinder to yourself and to all of those in your other relationships. Our frustrations with the present and our guilt from the past will rob us of the gift of tomorrow that God has in store for us. We cannot allow Satan to deprive our spirit of the life-giving flow of God’s Spirit within us. The Holy Spirit has the power, which makes our lives more productive for both the Kingdom of God and for us. By forgiving past hurts and walking in the Spirit in the present, we can look forward to a fulfilling future.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we commit our daily schedule to You and we dedicate our lives wholly to You. You will cause our thoughts to line up with Yours, and You will established our plans and cause us to succeed (Proverbs 16: 3). You are ever able to keep what we commit to You. (2 Timothy 1:12)

Thought for the Day:

Society has rarely seen what God can do through a person who is fully committed to Him.

God's Encouragement and Direction

Read: 1 Kings 19:5-12
“Be still, and know that I am God.” - Psalm 46:10 (NKJV)

God showed great understanding and mercy by sending an angel to comfort Elijah when he ran from Jezebel’s wrath. In his moment of deepest despair, Elijah found comfort in the angel’s presence and strength from the angels provision of food, which was already prepared for him to eat. This helped Elijah on his following journey of forty days through the desert to the mountain where Moses received the Ten Commandments.

Elijah witnessed a great miracle by God, yet he still fell prey to feelings of depression and abandonment. He actually believed he was not able to make a difference in the lives of God’s people. God met him on this mountain, however. Not in the way that Elijah imagined, but in a still, small voice.

I sometimes feel helpless in my daily walk with the Lord. However, I need to realize that in order for Him to use me, my self-sufficiency must decrease, so that He can increase in my life. When I lay aside my busy schedule and go to the solitary place to seek Him, He always encourages me and gives me clear direction. As I sit in His presence, He robes me with His strength to carry out whatever ministry He lays before me. This is when I can shine for His glory.

Prayer:

Lord, help me to live as an instrument of Your love in the world around me. Strengthen me each day to do Your will, and remind me that You use only vessels fashioned by Your hand.

Thought for the Day:

Set aside daily, quiet, undisturbed time, in which to enter into the presence of God in order to worship Him and to listen for His guidance.