Between chapters devotional

This is a between chapter devotional with some inspiration from a blog post I read titled "5 Ways We Stunt Our Spiritual Growth" by Christel Humfrey.  Let me give you the 5 ways and some of the scriptural references along with some of my commentary before, during, and after.

The new year will soon be here and we start assessing where we are in life.  If you are a Christian then part of that discussion with yourself might include your spiritual life.  You might feel like you need to get back into church more; get back in the Bible more; join up with a small group or just be more Christ-like at home, school, work, or play.  You set your mind that things need and should be different but there might be some things in the way that sabotage those good intentions.

1.  Pursuing God is not a priority

What other things have crept into the your calendar of life that have taken away time with God?  You have 168 hours in a week.  If we took the principle of the tithe to our time, would God get 16.8 hours of your week?  That would work out to 2.4 hours a day and you would say "wow that is a lot" along with me but it deals with priority.  I am not going to get legalistic about times and days and amounts but if we are to make strides in our time with the Lord He has to become a priority and we are fooling ourselves to think any progress will happen if we don't shift some things around and drop some things off.

Deuteronomy 6:12 says, "...then watch yourself, that you do not forget the LORD who brought you from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery."

2.  We already spent our energy on other things.

What time of the day do you give to God?  Is He getting the time that is left over when you are whipped?  Is He squeezed in when you have a few minutes and easily discarded when your phone pings another text message?  We probably all know our best time of the day to think and concentrate.  Some time needs to be reserved for God during those times.  In our world, other things will need to be shut off so that your focus on can be on God and God alone.  If prime energy time is not given to God then we will limp along and God will get our leftovers if any because we are so tired.  The fact is that we are not God who doesn't get weary or tired.

Isaiah 40:28 says, "Do you not know?  Have you not heard?  The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.  His understanding is inscrutable."

3.  There is a spiritual battle going on.

We need to recognize that there is someone, the devil, who does not want us to go forward in our relationship with Christ.  He will be putting roadblocks in the way.  He will give you the excuses to speak to this issue and the rationalizations that make your excuses sound holy.  He lives for you to say "tomorrow" about these spiritual disciplines of applying the principles and experiencing the promises of God.

Anglican pastor J.C. Ryle wrote, "Tomorrow is the devil's day, but today is God's.  Satan does not care how spiritual your intentions are, or how holy your resolutions, if only they are determined to be done tomorrow."

Make a little progress today.  It might not be to the level that you want it to be but don't fall to his trap of putting something off for God that can be done today even if it is just a little bit.  The devil is seeking to devour any action on your part to your intentions.

4.  Sin is standing between you and God.

This is a huge one.  If you are not taking care of that sin biblically then you need to come to grips with the fact that you love that sin more than you love God.  Another fact to grapple with is that loving God is harder than loving sin.  It will not happen that you would draw closer to God if you have this sin lingering in your life that He can deliver you from.  He is the one who can provide the ultimate answer but you and I hold unto it because we think we know better than God.  We love our sin more than we love God.

Luke 10:27 says, And he answered, "You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself."

There isn't any room in that word "all" for your sin that you are holding onto.  Therefore we need to do what 1 John 1:9 says to do.  "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

5.  You are in a season of exhaustion.

I have been here.  There is a major medical situation you are going through or a family member you are responsible for.  There is a family situation that requires much time and your peak energy to handle the right way.  There are demands that drain but they are not permanent and priorities need to be shifted but to be shifted back again when it is over.  The temptation when these times come is to stop completely.  If you do, the start up is extremely difficult.  Why do those semis keep rolling so slightly coming up to a red light?  They know that the little movement they have going will help them get back up to speed so much quicker than if they came to a complete stop.  In seasons of exhaustion we may slow down on our spiritual disciplines but don't stop.  Find those little things that can be done with the Lord.

Psalm 61:1, 2 says, "Hear my cry, O God; give heed to my prayer.  From the end of the earth I call to You when my heart is faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

Be smart and realistic about your spiritual evaluation and don't be blindfolded by Satan and his schemes.  If these 5 are a part of your life they will stunt your spiritual growth but we have a God who can do something about each point.  Let me close with a reminder of Hebrews 4:16 which says, "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need."  Let's pray.

"Lord help us to be realistic about our intentions.  Help us to see what is in the way and Your solution to that hinderance.  You are the answer to our increasing devotion of You.  The answer is not apart from You.  Thank You for giving us the mercy and the grace to come to before You in confidence because of You.  Amen."

Pastor Adam