Today is my day off. I am usually pretty tired on Mondays and enjoy a slow pace. Some Mondays I don't get out of my sweats and house slippers. It is a day of comfortable clothes and comfortable routines. The day begins with Michele kissing me goodbye as she leaves for work. I am usually still in bed since she goes in so early. If I get out of bed in time, I see AJ off to school. Erika leaves for college classes sometimes or she and I may watch TV together for 30 minutes to an hour.
Afterward around 9:00 I visit with one of my close friends, Kent Ellett, a fellow student at seminary and pastor-teacher of Speedway Church of Christ. We share in one another's lives, pour over scripture, talk about our ministries and families and pray together. By then I am ready for lunch. In the afternoon I may take in a movie at the theaters or some other activity, run errands, go shop for something I need or want, etc. It is a day to myself and my needs. I have learned to keep it sacred to me.
As I continue my Daniel Fast I read this morning the first two chapters of Susan Gregory's book, The Daniel Fast: Feed Your Soul, Strengthen Your Spirit, and Renew Your Body. She challenged my comfortable habits by asking me not what do I want out of this fast, which is a good question, but "what is God's purpose for my fasting period?" She asked me to ask the Holy Spirit to revel to me God's purpose for me. It is a very different kind of question.
As I type the house is quiet and I am alone. I prayed after reading and fell asleep. I awoke with no answer. Feeling a bit non-plussed, I went back to the question she presented. Susan Gregory noted that she usually receives an answer in two days. I wanted the answer immediately. Waiting two days is kind of exciting though. It means I have to tune in regularly. Perhaps part of God's purpose is to tech me patience and to learn to wait in Him.
My Monday comforts are being set aside this morning for more prayer and...uh...waiting. Mondays are not a day off from meeting God's purposes. It was nice to be reminded. I love the verse Gregory shares in her book which I cite above. Paul is praying for the church that God would sanctify them entirely, to make the church as holy as God is holy in spirit, soul and body. I notice that it is God who will do the sanctifying work. I just need to be available.
Dear Lord, how can I fret over waiting on You? You are all that is worth waiting for. Your promises outshine all the comforts of this fading world. I seek Your grace to see You purpose. Assist me, Holy Spirit to wait as Jesus did in the wilderness and in Gethsemane. Clear the noise, open my mind and heart. I wait to receive Your holy purpose for this season in my life. In the authority of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment