P 2358 Priorities

Following the Holy Spirit and His leading, is the greatest choice of all. I dare to say that it is essential. However, we must get the thought out of our heads that walking with the Holy Spirit means we will always feel something, or get some benefit or other. HOW ABOUT THE BENEFIT OF BEING SAVED while we were yet sinners!! I exhort all of us to leave the idea of constant wonderful overwhelming spiritual feelings behind us, and do what we do because we love Him. That’s what Jesus did for His Father and us.

Here is something for free that I’ve learned the hard way when I walk with Him. When the Lord’s POV crosses my own, often all I feel is grumpy and hard done by. At that particular moment I can give you about 900 reasons why what I think is more right than that other person is. However there is no actual faith exercised when we think we can prove our point by walloping some poor unsuspecting schmuck over the head with God’s book. 

That’s not what His book is for – we have it to get to know our God and His ways, not just to search it for the things I might want make my life better, or to prove a point. The bible is a beautiful story of salvation and redemption, so that now we can live our our lives acknowledging: ‘that without HIM we can do nothing.’ 

You know the Holy Spirit will point out our sins and flaws, but only with the thought in mind of smoothing out the pathway in front of us. You and I are a highway for the King to travel on – we just need to be willing for the Holy Spirit  to smooth out those pathways, by filling in the potholes and removing bumps. There is nothing on this earth better than watching King Jesus reach out to one of His lost little ones ….and He just used our unconditional loving words to do it!

Sadly, instead, many of us have used our time thus far memorising all the “ME” verses… ‘I am this and that and I’ve been given this and that.’ Here’s something worth thinking on —Father God has given us Himself – HE is our treasure and gain. Not some promise or other that we demand He fulfil. He is our priority.

I hardly ever feel happy happy joy joy all the time. – I figure that’s in the book too! Nor is this life of mine all sunbeams and rainbows …sometimes its creaky painful joints and  a complete lack of can-do motivation! HOWEVER … I’ve learnt to obey the Holy Spirit, because I want to follow Jesus. This process is not meant to be tried, it is meant to be learnt. All that means is this:  I’m probably going to bump my nose into my own particular cross regularly… and I won’t like it much. I’m not convinced that this life is actually meant to suit us. 

We can easily fool each other with our ‘nice’ smiles and faces that look like we are listening to others. But we don’t fool Him. Living this life as a laid-down, totally surrendered lover of Christ is not easy. Learning obedience through suffering isn’t easy either, but it does become more natural when we practise it. Dying to self means we are making room for Him. I urge you to weigh up those attitudes in this life that act against His unconditional love for us and others. And then go on to think about what we are losing every time we give in to the temptation to look after me, myself and I. I know I lose the opportunity to see God at work IN MY OWN LIFE. 

I was saved to serve Him wherever I am. At my school, job, house, and in my ordinary little unspectacular day-to-day life. That is what is actually really powerful. When ordinary people who serve an extraordinary God – but they have no grand destiny to speak of — when those people choose to give up living for themselves, and they choose to live for Him instead. To them, nothing else matters.That’s called single-mindedness and the Holy Spirit loves it! Jesus had it and it needs to be our great, never-ending quest. Let’s keep watch over our priorities.

We can go through this life praying desperate emergency prayers as needed, or we can choose to walk constantly and ever-increasingly with the One Who knows the way. He not only knows the way, He knows US inside and out! There is nobody better equipped to help us to deal with our day to day problems and heartaches than the Holy Spirit. Make Him and His will your priority and watch your whole life change. 👋🏻