My Beloved concludes:
We are now a quarter of the way through this year. That’s 25%!! No matter how you slice it– that’s quite a chunk of time. Especially if we haven’t been diligent on the goals we set out to accomplish for this year. But that’s ok!! There’s nothing like focused attention and dedicated hard work to help get us right back on track. If we do it right, we can even out-pace the previous goal! It’s still possible because greater is He that’s in you, than he that’s in the world! (1 John 4:4)
As we continue to explore the costs of change, let’s come back to the foundation scriptures Proverbs 4:24-27 –
“Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.”
The first two parts of this series really focused on our heart posture, the meditation of our hearts and minds, what we continually expose our senses to, and what we speak. Last time, we left off talking about the culmination of these things to help bring about the change we want to see. The crucial next step that ties it all together is a word (or series of words) that many people run far away from – discipline, perseverance, and long-suffering.
The true cost of lasting change doesn’t come but by successfully implementing a combination of these in our lives. We can have love, joy, and peace, but if we don’t put it into ordered steps, they won’t produce the multiplied results in our lives, or in the lives of those around us.
Galatians 5:22-23 lists the fruit of the Spirit:
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” Our heart posture helps produce the all of these fruit, but the focused attention of our minds and actions are required for the patience (long-suffering or forbearance) and for the self-control (discipline and perseverance).
When we look at Proverbs 4:26, where it says “Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure”, we clearly see that there is a call for deep consideration of the course of our steps, and how we should walk. This is why it goes on in verse 27 to say “Do not swerve to the right or to the left” We must walk on a clear path in the direction that we’re instructed and set out to achieve. This requires an actual love for discipline and focused/ordered steps. This brings stability and builds the foundation needed for God to build.
The discipline, patience, and perseverance will look different for different people, and the size of the goal. We can expect our minds and our bodies to resist the birthing of this fruit in our lives because it’s contrary to our carnal nature. But the verse right after the list of the fruit of the spirit is often overlooked by many.
“And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.”
They’re spoken together in the letter to the Galatians for a reason – our spirit longs to partner with Holy Spirit to align and produce the spiritual fruit and bring about the manifested physical results. But it comes at the cost of denying our flesh, our carnal nature, its desires, and passions.
Stay focused and “press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 3:14 ESV
~mnm
