Tag: important

Cultivating Slow Living

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If you have ever spent time in a garden, you know to get the most out of what you are planting, you must first spend time cultivating the soil. This involves preparing the soil to support the life of the seed or the plant. It is about nourishing and amending the soil. This ensures it will have all the healthful benefits needed to reach full maturity and fruitfulness.

Many want fruitfulness. However, the way we have been pursuing it has left many less than satisfied. They feel deflated, worn out, and frazzled because of all it takes to reach it in this world of demands.

Our modern culture allows us to do many things. This increase in perceived productivity has been helpful in some areas while taking its toll on others.

The physical, emotional, and mental burnout that people have come to equate with success has created dissatisfaction. This has awakened a not-so-silent call for a better way to live. There must be more than this constantly rushing about.

Many have become aware of the unhealthy way our over-rushed and overworked culture has pushed us forward and the term “slow living” has regained our attention. Dealing with constant busyness and hurried lifestyles has caused some to take a step back. In this, they reflect and reevaluate what is really a priority for them to have a wholesome, balanced, and healthy life. And what many are finding out is that there is a real need to put space on the calendar or the everyday routine of life to let go, and get slow.

Slow, misunderstood, and used wrongly, can be viewed as laziness. But slow can be beautiful because you are deciding to be purposeful with your life. Moving forward at a hundred miles an hour is not your goal, rather you account that people and life, in general, are made for so much more than mere zooming by without the time for deep connections. So, you take the time to love, nourish, be intentional, and simply live and enjoy all the ways God has blessed you.

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You are cultivating, on purpose, the ground of your life to support more than agendas and achievements. The abundance you are desiring cannot be confined to such trivial things. The greatest example is in our relationship with Christ.

Jesus promised us an abundant life (John 10:10). That abundance is not about forcing or focusing on things we can gain in this world or material wealth. The richest thing one can invest in to be more intentional with the life they have been given is more of Him. That cannot happen if we are always distracted by constantly doing and never taking the time to sit and be where He is (Luke 10:40-42).

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God…” (Psalm 46:10).

Cultivating slow living is not about shirking responsibilities or approaching life with a lackadaisical attitude. This is about valuing everything I have been given, especially the people in my life, and I want to care for each and honor each in a way that lets them know I esteem them, I am here for them, and I love them. I want to use this life in a way that pleases God by stewarding well what He has given me and not have my focus continually on climbing some invisible ladder of success.

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Think about what pursuit has you running about at a hurried pace today? The Bible tells us, “He that followeth after righteousness and mercy findeth life, righteousness, and honour” (Proverbs 21:21).

It is so easy to get caught up in what has been dubbed “the rat race,” but our daily living is made for more. These days, people, and moments are gifts to us by our Heavenly Father and we are encouraged about how we spend our time with each (Ephesians 5:15, 16).

“To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven”
Ecclesiastes 3:1

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Changing what we pursue and how we pursue it will make our lives a lot less stressful. Take time today to slow down, prioritize, and recenter on what matters most. There is so much more to life, and we don’t want to miss it.

So, how do we make this change?

  • Prioritize – Look where you are now and what you want your tomorrow to look like. To achieve your desired outcome, what can you let go of or shave down some so that you don’t always feel at your wit’s end. I can attest to the fact that often we take on more than we are capable of in any given season. Laying something aside right now doesn’t mean it’s not important; it just means it doesn’t fit in with the season of life I’m in right now. So we prioritize, bringing out the best without being overburdened with things that can wait.
  • Recenter – Once you have strained out the main priorities for your right-now season, you can recenter and mark your path forward. When using a GPS, sometimes I look at the overview screen of the trip to see the highways and streets we must travel ahead of us. But when I need to get back to dealing with where I am currently on my journey, I need to hit the recenter button. While it’s okay to think about the future (the Bible encourages this often), we must also pay attention to where we are in our present moment. What needs our immediate attention right now? How much strength, time, and commitment can I put into this right now? These are important questions to ask. We often get hurried and over-stressed because we want to deal with all the right-now stuff the along with the what-ifs of the future stacked on top of it. Most of the daily things we deal with can be broken down into more manageable tasks and delegated to other times. It doesn’t have to be all or nothing (an attitude that overworks us).
  • Go slow – take a deep breath and move forward at a manageable pace. There have been times I have prayed and asked God to help me steward this day or for the best way to handle the tasks in front of me. He, who is the “Ancient of Days” (Daniel 7:9), has the wisdom and strength your day needs. Trust Him with your schedule. We are given gifts to be productive, but remember, God, who is the Author of those gifts, is also the Author of rest (Genesis 2:2,3). Not just with the Sabbath, but throughout Scripture, His call to rest is a call to trust in what He is doing in your life during this season. We become filled with ideas and inspirations and want to put the pedal to the metal and give it our all. And that’s fine. But if you are feeling burned out and extremely overwhelmed, you have to question is this what God has for me in this season, or is it me rushing ahead? And if we feel it is the Lord’s leading, perhaps we need to revisit steps 1 and 2 to be sure we have shaved unnecessary things away for now.
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Don’t be disheartened. Schedules often need to be revisited to see if everything we have going on right now is for our optimal good. Recently, I have personally had to revisit how I approach certain tasks, and it is helping me see that although I love my routines, some routines or expectations may not work for certain periods of life. We must be willing to move and adjust when feeling led or if we feel like this particular thing isn’t working for now, and trust God with the outcome.

We want to cultivate a life where we are productive under God’s grace without completely feeling exhausted and stressed as if we are being buried under the burden of each day’s demands. Sometimes, slowing down will help us to do just that. Enjoy this life God has given.

Blessings ~

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Guard | Protecting the Significant

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Guarding is strong.  Guarding is powerful.  Guarding is beautiful because it says what I have in me is valuable space.  Trivial things and those who tarnish or bring unbeneficial substances are not welcome here.

The sacred is alive in you (1 John 4:4) and it must be cherished and protected at all costs.  The Bible encourages us to, “Be sober, be vigilant…” (1 Peter 5:8).  Being vigilant means I must take a proactive approach to the value in me and be very attentive to the things that seek to drain and damage it.

Many distractions come in life with its very definition meaning to steal your focus and direction from what is truly important.  These distractions stand against the foundation of what one considers significant.   

But to truly treasure what’s in you is to truly treat it like the jewel that it is and stand guard against all who would try to misappropriate her value.  “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy…” Jesus warned His followers (John 10:10a).  So, the responsibility lies within each of us to be aware and never stop protecting the beauty He offers – “abundant life” (John 10:10b). 

Would it be profitable to move one’s feet from the position on the watchtower even for just a moment while an enemy creeps in unawares?

No.  It would not only be unprofitable, but it could be dangerous.  A foe is a foe and nothing else.  His purpose is to stop your advancement while Christ is accelerating you up to go forward.  But if you are slowed and your progress hindered due to a personal refusal to stand watch, then what of the treasure within?  Will it be used to its maximum usefulness, or will it, through neglect and lack of vigilance, dwindle and waste away?

The beauty within… the value within calls us to stand guard and to treasure and protect the significant.

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A Matthew 6:30 Promise | Words to Live By

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Caring for someone is not a trivial thing. The importance of one’s love for you can be felt in what they do for you and by the words and the way they speak over you. The Father’s care for us can be experienced by both. In our daily lives, we see His love manifested in myriad ways. And in His Word, we read what He thinks of us and how important we are to Him. In Matthew 6:30, Jesus confirms this by telling us, “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?” You cannot begin to understand how important you are to God, just trust that you are. And the daily things that concern us are not a worry in the heart of the Father. “He’s got you!” Those words are not just another casual phrase to be tossed about. They are words of promise you can stand upon in faith today!

When Little Means a Lot!

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There are few places in life where it seems anything associated with the word little is appreciated.  And while our culture and this world tend to only see the big things, the grand, the outlandishly oversized as important to regard, the Bible continually teaches us that those things that we consider to be little, mean so much more.

For instance, Psalm 37:16 lets us know, “A little that a righteous man hath is better than the riches of many wicked.”  It’s all a matter of where value is placed.  The values that the righteous man has within him because of his relationship with God far exceed the value of things, stuff, and money many wicked together can possess.  Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasure upon earth . . . but lay up for yourselves treasure in heaven . . .” (Mt. 6:19-20).  Little possessions may not account for much here, but a heart rich in Jesus is worth so much more, here, and in heaven.

Another thing our culture celebrates is the idea of success, especially what appears to be an instant or overnight success.  In an age where clicks to like can boost an “influencer’s” reputation or clout, it Is not hard to imagine the rise of some to happen so quickly.  And yet, the Bible asks this in Zechariah: “For who hath despised the day of small things?” (4:10).

All success is not bad.  In fact, we are encouraged many times in the Bible to work, work hard, and put in full effort.  But what is bad is the worship of success and the comparison trap it can bring.  The groundwork of what God wants to do in your life is going to need an awesome foundation, and any good foundation takes time to build.

Clicks, likes, and human recognition may not have you shooting ahead fast as lightning, but your progress in God, your progress in what and how He is leading you to build, is worth so much more, even if it takes a little bit longer.

A little in God’s kingdom can do mighty works.  And the Bible teaches us “if ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed” (Lk. 17:6; Mt. 17:20, and 21:21), you can do amazing things.  It’s not always about increasing, as the disciples once asked (Lk. 17:5), it’s about working with what you presently possess.  And if what you presently possess is not much, God can multiply that if you just will use your little bit.

With God, size doesn’t matter, but source does.  If you look at what you have and you depend on that as your source, that is not faith – God’s not interested in that.  But if He’s your authentic, true-enough source; if it is to Him you are raising your eyes to heaven, with your two fish and five little loaves (Mt. 14:17-19) – now, that kind of reliant faith is something He can work with.

Friends, I have only touched the tip of the iceberg here to teach you that with God, a little means a whole lot.  But I hope it’s enough to encourage you to stop comparing where you are with another’s progress.  Don’t let discouraging thoughts discount the value in you.  You are important.   What you have is important, no matter how any other views it, even if it appears to only be a little.

“There be four things which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise:

The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer;

The conies are but a feeble folk, yet make they their houses in the rocks;

The locusts have no king, yet go they forth all of them by bands;

The spider taketh hold with her hands, and is in kings’ palaces.” Proverbs 30:24-28

Little things can make a big difference.

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com articles/lessons/worksheets may not be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of WordforLifeSays.com.  Please see the COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.  Blessings to you.

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The God-Placements | Carriers of the Ministry

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What does effective ministry look like to you?

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“This shall be the service of the sons of Kohath in the tabernacle of the congregation, about the most holy things:” Numbers 4:4

Every believer has a place in the calling or ministry of God. There is no such thing as someone who has been saved by grace that is not equipped in one or more ways to operate in a particular gift (s) by His grace (Rom. 12:6). And while the area you are called to work in may not look like the ministry of another (1 Cor. 12:4), it is no less critical in its impact for God’s kingdom.

Like a well-functioning body, every member is needed to step up to the plate with their gifts (comp. 1 Cor. 12:12, 14). While the spotlight tends to fall naturally on those in the front, there are many behind-the-scene positions, if they were not managed by capable persons working in their gifts, then whatever is going on upfront would not be going on at all.

After watching a good movie, especially one with multiple twists and turns, I love to scroll through the credits to see those who participated in the making of the movie. My goal is to see who the writer is. Many eyes may be drawn to the main characters, but the real star of the show is the one who wrote the story. The one who allowed him or herself to spend much time in relative obscurity, working their gift to pull the story off according to their specific design.

There are no wasted behind-the-scene moments when working to help the service of God go forward, when helping to get His story out there. There is no work that we do for our heavenly Father that is to be considered unimportant if we are working where He has called us to work. There is great value in every calling (1 Cor. 1:26, 27).

And it was God who called the Kohathites for a special job. In the days of their wilderness wanderings, when the people were ready to journey, and the tabernacle had to be disassembled into its specific pieces by the priests, it was the sons of Kohath who were commissioned by God to be there to help in the process by being carriers of the holy vessels that were inside (Num. 4:15).

Because they were not priests; because they were not the upfront guys, the items would first be covered (for their protection) so they could not see or touch them (4:17-20), but they were still called upon to help carry the things of God, to help carry the ministry.

Where they were needed to work for the kingdom of God may not seem glamourous (after all, they didn’t get the special garments, with the special office of preparing the special offerings), but the work was helpful in successfully moving the articles of the tabernacle from one location to another.

Friends, your position of performance may not include being front and center. There may be certain parts your calling cannot participate in. But wherever God has placed you, it is important, and your service to Him is valuable.

1 Corinthians 12:18 states, “But now hath God set the members every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.” This is what I call the God-placements. According to His divine purpose and design, God has a special place for each of us, and every place we serve is essential and profitable for the Kingdom’s work.

While we may put much emphasis on those who are holding the microphone, speaking at large gatherings, singing to multitudes, and writing bestsellers – we forget the joy of being called where God knows we fit. Where God knows we can make the most difference.

We forget the importance of just doing. Doing what we do best for Him, for God. No matter how small or insignificant it may seem to others, it makes a difference for His kingdom.

One psalmist said, “For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Ps. 84:10). Whichever way you want to interpret that verse, I would rather participate in the humblest of positions in the will of God than out, for in it I will find the richest of all experiences.

Everyone has a place. Everyone in their place can do something amazing that would help this work continue to grow and spread. If it is to hold a microphone, so be it. But if I only get to be a carrier for Him, let me carry the ministry God has instilled in me with all my might and strength, knowing there is no work, big or small, that is done in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

Your reward may not come now with the applause of men (which is a heavy responsibility that produces low returns), but when performed for God, for His glory (1 Cor. 10:31), it will come with a “well done” (Mt. 25:23) from Him, the highest reward and applause we should seek.

Lord, though our flesh may desire to see more, do more, and touch more, let our spirit rest in the truth that if we are called to only be carriers of the ministry, we are called according to Your beautiful pleasure and placement for our lives. Help us to serve in that calling, with all grace, working to please our God and heavenly Father. AMEN!

Copyright © Word For Life Says.com articles/lessons/worksheets may not be copied or redistributed without the express written permission of WordforLifeSays.com.  Please see the COPYRIGHT PAGE for more details.  Blessings to you.

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