This morning I turned to Paul's letter to the Philippians. My goal in prayer is to connect with the Lord, and hear His voice to me today. I always ask where I should read and wait for His guidance, which often comes as an impression, or highlighted thought. Anyway, today it was Paul's letter to the church in Philippi, and in starting to read these verses stood out to me - Philippians 1:9-11,27-30 NIV:
[9] "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, [10] so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, [11] filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ---to the glory and praise of God."
[27] "Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel [28] without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved---and that by God. [29] For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him, [30] since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have."
Sandwiched between these two sets of verses, Paul is speaking about some of the difficulties He has experienced. This morning I have found myself thinking mostly about work and my life, and my small difficulties, and then I open this letter up and see Paul speaking about things of much greater importance, and it allowed me to change my perspective.
So often I find myself looking at my life from amidst the present and daily issues and struggles, rather from a perspective of God's work, and my part of that work, as I represent Him, and am in relationship with Him. I lose sight, in my daily walk of the greater reality, and in doing so, lose proper perspective. Paul's encouragement is to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel, and honestly that is rarely how I think about myself throughout the day, especially if I am in some sort of struggle, or feeling pressure.
As I was reading these verses, it seemed to me that I need to go back and read verses 9-11 again and again, until that reflects my heart and desire. I am called to embrace the Lord in love and affection, allowing my heart to be moved for Him, as He draws me deeper into understanding of His heart and ways. As I engage in my daily life, my heart and mind should point me back to Him, allowing His word and presence to guide me, strengthen me and speak to me.
Additionally, as I was reading Paul's words, I was just struck by the vast difference there is between how he related to the Lord, and how I do. His walk led him down difficult paths and in the midst of those, He saw the Lord's faithfulness, and experienced His affection. In the midst of my struggle, instead of turning to the Lord, I buckle down and put my head down to try and muscle through. If I do this with my own daily stuff, I wonder how I would be under actual persecution for my faith?
There is clearly much room in my life for repentance, for changing the way I think, for changing the things I think about, and for changing my daily perspective and focus. I do need to grow in love, and knowledge and depth of insight! I need to be able to better discern what is best I need to join myself more fully to the Body of Christ, joining together in the advancing of the Gospel through my life, in whatever way I can! I see the need to grow in humility, in transparency and in affection! Lord, please help me to allow my focus to change from my little life to Your purpose and calling and Kingdom! Help me to conduct my life in a manner worthy of the Gospel! Help to press forward into life, love, knowledge and depth of insight!
Lord, help us all to step into all that You have for us!
Amen
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