What on the WR challenges me?
What can I press into that makes me rely on God, keep my focus on Him?
For many people, conditions are challenging. But honestly, difficult conditions don’t affect me all that much.
I don’t care if I have to hand wash all my clothes, or have to squat behind a bush to pee, or if I only have a bucket shower once a week. It doesn’t matter to me if I don’t have internet, or if I have to sleep outside with bugs surrounding me, or if I eat rice for every meal. I don’t mind sweating my socks off doing labor work, trying foods that aren’t� normal�, or riding in transportation that has potential to be life threatening. Even holding a baby with wounds and has poop between their fingers doesn’t bother me. I could go on! This is not to brag…
There are things that do challenge me on the WR. Why do I want to “press� into these things?
I have this huge desire to grow! I want to know my Maker more, I want to reverence His name and glorify Him with everything I’ve got and with everything I do! I want to tell others about Him!!
Often times our challenges are opportunities to grow. This is not to say that we can’t stretch in things that don’t challenge us . For example, I learned the lesson of giving by a little boy. Click here to read the blog Generous
Some things that have been challenging to me are feedback, and doing things with the right motive. Let me explain.
Feedback is a tool used on the WR to promote openness and spiritual growth in families. It is hard to give corrective feedback to a family member when you know they could (for a time) hate you for it, or not take it to heart even if it is spoken out of grace and love. It is easier for me just to let it go. But this is in no way loving them. The loving thing is to tell the truth, even if it hurts their approval of you. This goes into my next challenge.
Why do I rarely say no to someone when they ask me to do something? Well, I use to think it was because I wanted to be just like Jesus and He lived sacrificially. I interpreted this into doing anything for someone because I needed to “die� to self and do what would serve them. But here is the problem and lie with this. First, Jesus did not go around doing everything everyone told him to do. He only did what the Father told him to do. Yes, Jesus served and He was the best servant and lead by example. He did it all for God and to obey Him.
Yes this is my desire, but I realized I would do it for man and for man’s approval. Here are those two awful words that sound nice and sweet but is actually one of the most selfish things that you can do….people pleasing! Why do I please people? I seek to please people to get approval for myself. This is not living in who God has made me be. This is not living by His approval but man’s unpleasing, unsatisfying, never lasting, unimportant approval.
People have encouraged me to just say no. But God’s Spirit inside of me did not feel peace about this either. Yes, sometimes we do need to say no to things, but also we need God to just change out heart. So what does this look like? I think it is different for everyone! But what God told me was this.
In everything I do I need to ask Him what is my motive behind it. If it is to please man, I can right then and there confess, instead of just completely stopping what I am doing. Instead I can ask Him to help me do it for Him and Him alone.
It can be easy to not “press in�, to just coast on by. Especially when there are only 3 months left of the Race. But it is not about the finish. This is a life time. God has given me an incredible opportunity! I want these last 3 months to be the best yet! I am all in!
Help me run this race with perseverance. I don’t want to walk or even crawl across the finish line. I want to sprint! I can ONLY do this with your help Lord!
“Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.” Galatians 1:10
Zion’s Gate…where we are at this month.
