“So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want.” (Galatians 5:16-17)
I spent the whole of last Monday on my phone scrolling through Pinterest, looking for a rug that I wanted to layer on top of the jute rug that we already have.
I enjoy creating beautiful places to live in and find great joy in decorating the house we recently moved into. However, I knew in my heart, prompted by God, that I was spending way too much time on it. The Holy Spirit was tugging at my heart to come and seek the things of His Kingdom. However, I chose to ignore Him and kept right on scrolling. Consequently, at the end of the day, I was emotionally exhausted. Neither had I found the rug that I liked nor was I satisfied in the thought that I had spent my time wisely. And of course, guilt took over.
I did not wake up the next morning to pray.
And guilt took over some more. The day after that, I felt the residual effects of the previous day. I didn’t give my best to God. I felt weak and lethargic spiritually. So I did what I knew I could always do – I asked God for grace. God responded with a question:
“But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage?” (Galatians 4:9)
Isn’t that absolutely true? Compared to what God has to offer me, what the world can offer me is laughable at best. However, it was the things of the world that I choose to spend my time on.
In the days that followed, God helped me realize that when left unbridled, going through Pinterest can quickly cause me to be guilty of covetousness – I look at somebody’s rug, covet it, I look everywhere for something similar to it and feel despair when I cannot find it or if it is too expensive for me to afford.
What joy we often forfeit because we do not seek the things of the Kingdom in the way we seek transient pleasures! What utter delight awaits us if we choose to cling only to Him.
Cling.
This is the same word used to describe Ruth, the Moabitess. The Bible says she “clung” to Naomi (Ruth 1:14). And look at what came to pass – God wove her story into the story of His Son. Only good can come out of clinging to Him. Only He can satisfy that which I do not even know is lacking.
Help me, Lord!
Father, many times I get discouraged and many times I lose my way. I think that is the end – You would not want me back because I keep failing. But You have promised that a righteous man, though he may fall seven times, will rise again (Proverbs 2:16). I trust Your word, Lord. I also know that I can come to You only by faith working through love and not by my acts of righteousness. Help me to completely depend on You. Thank You for not condemning me. Give me the grace to rise again and spend much time with you – giving you the best part of each day and steadily growing closer to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
8 comments
[…] people around us to run away from the reality that God tries to show us. We binge watch Netflix or spend hours scrolling on social media – trying to escape the truth that is staring us in the face. We substitute fleeting pleasures […]
This is so true our fight is not against flesh and blood and the evil one even today slithers in my mind and fills with it a desire for things ungodly .. so subtle that I don’t even realise it and then by the time it hits me .. I feel spiritually dead . Thank you for the beautiful story .. I pray that God will keep me focussed on eternity every day , Will enable me to cling on like Ruth .
Like peter sometimes I doze off in things of God…but my God graciously help me overcome this earthly temptation by His overpowering love. He gives us a loving reminder today that ‘the spirit is willing but flesh is weak’. Lets seek the Lord’s strength to fix our minds on things above.
Amen.
[…] day we are bombarded by e-mails, messages, news reports, social media, advertisements, relationships, duties, and commitments that fight for our attention. Satan’s go-to method to […]
[…] time again. In the days past, the common man only had his neighbor to compare his life to. Today, every gadget you own, every social media account you log into, and every advertisement you are subje… subtly sends you constant messages that trigger you to compare your life to someone who seems to […]
[…] opulent holiday can trigger jealousy if left unchecked and held back from God’s intervention. In this day and age of social media, all of this information is just a click away. If we do not have eyes that are consecrated for […]
[…] smile at his antics and go about my chores. Later in the day, I come across something on social media. It might be anything- a girl wearing a cute top, a kitchen gadget that promises to make my life […]
Comments are closed.