GRACE ANCHORED JOURNEY

One step at a time. Slow down your life. This is what I learned from being so mobile and active for the past years of my life. God let me rest from running with so much load. I felt that though I had not gone astray from my faith, my fellowship with Him slowly faded as I became so preoccupied with many things. There was not a day that I did not think much about work, ministry, family, future, and other matters that concerns me.My life was in the fast-paced mode that I had forgotten to intentionally include the Lord in my every day life. Yes, I still read my Bible and pray from time to time, but I had not really totally committed to honor Him throughout the day.

Our generation today is facing so much distractions that if we don’t intentionally commit our lives to honor Him, we would be at lost in the vastness of life’s preoccupations and entanglements. If you have worked or working, you had probably been exposed to the reality of “instants” things of life. Everyday it seems that we are in the battlefield – with all the decisions that we make, tasks and responsibilities to accomplish, and so on. Our energy is always exhausted and there are times when we just want to shut everybody off so we can rest – physically, mentally, and even spiritually.

I lived in a crowded metro for more than a decade and I got acquainted with the chaotic race on a day to day basis. I thought it was fun and adventurous to be in this kind of place. It did not bring me so much boredom in life. Until the time that God made me realized how I was running a different race and had forgotten my real purpose in life.

Honoring God is not a one-time deal. It is a day to day and moment by moment choice. I believe that our everyday life is all about choices. And that choices whether it is the right choice or not will determine our course. Apostle Paul said that whether we eat or drink, do all for the glory of God ( 1 Corinthians 10:31). Even the simplest thing that we do and normally do, eating and drinking, we are reminded to give glory to God. So regardless how small or little the thing that we do on a day to day basis, we must aim to honor and glorify Him.

Spend Your First Time with Him

One of the contemporary writers that I admire these days is Elizabeth George. In her book “Time Management for Busy Women,” she shared how our time and first time must be dedicated to the Lord. We need to remember that:

Time. Your time is always well-spent when you spend it looking to the Lord through His Word.

First Time. Aim at giving the first minutes of each day to reading the Bible and talking to Him. Job gave us a good example when he said that he has esteemed God’s Word more than his necessary food (Job 23:12).

Early Time. David encouraged us to offer our early time when he said “O God, You are my God; early will I seek You; my soul thirsts for You (Psalm 63:1). David, as we knew is a busy person. But he opted to seek God first that would make his day right.

Seeking the Lord before the world gets into us is the best way to battle the day with preoccupations in life. We need God’s wisdom to direct us the entire day. His Word is our weapon. Having started my day with the Him gives me a lighter mood the entire exhausting day.

 Intentionally Include God In Your Day

 One of my favorite verses in the Bible is Proverbs 3:6 which states “in all our ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” Everyday, we face a lot of things. We make decisions. We accomplish things. We fulfill our individual roles. Without God, how are we supposed to go thorough the day? Acknowledging Him in everything we do will surely give us wisdom and strength to go on the entire day.

Putting God in remembrance throughout the day implies our dependence to His grace. It is also an acknowledgement on our part stating that we can’t do things alone. For apart from Him, we can do nothing (John 15:5). That’s what I learned from David’s life. I saw how he was including God in every affair that he had in life.

By including God in everything we do, we are reminded that in every decision or thing we need to accomplish, it automatically implies that we need to honor Him.

End Your Day With Him

 After the world has exhausted our energy for the day, do we still remember God’s sufficient grace? Do we thank Him for He sustains us? David did. He was assured that “he lies down and sleep; and awake again , because the Lord sustains him” (Psalm 3:5). What an amazing fellowship he had with the Lord that he spent his early time with God and end it with him, too!

Waking up everyday is a miracle that God allows us to experience. Giving back the praise and honor to Him is the greatest thing we can do with our daily existence.