Good morning, world. Things are looking pretty good from the front porch of my farm in Virginia today. The sky is gray and they’re calling for rain and it’s almost as if I can hear the ground begging for water. We’ve been praying for rain and my God already Knows that we need it. As thankful as I am for the possibility of rain today, the gray sky replaced the “wow” for me this morning and it would be so easy to follow suit and to become “spiritually lazy” today myself. I can’t do anything about the gray skies except to pray that God fills the clouds with the rain we so desperately need, BUT I am in full control of whether or not I become “spiritually lazy”! I don’t know everything, but I DO know this – if I don’t “take captive every thought” and kick the gray to the curb, then I can’t fulfill all that He has Planned for me. So, rain or shine…blue or gray…I seek His face day after day and I make it my Mission to be pleasing to Him…because I know that as long as I do my Part, I can be a usable Vessel for the King. Isn’t that the way you look at your Journey of Faith too?

I’ve traveled a rocky road through this Journey called “life” and I’ve had my fair share of drama. Some of it was self-inflicted and some of it brought on by someone else – ALL of it was purposed into my life by the hand of the Living God to mold me and shape me and soften my Heart. I am living proof that “all things work together for good FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM AND ARE CALLED ACCORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.” I know what it is to live WITHOUT peace, so I determine to live a life OF peace and I avoid anything and anyone who has the potential to rob me. Determining to live a life of Peace has nothing to do with living in a bubble on the front porch of this old farm, and it doesn’t mean that I isolate myself from the world. It doesn’t mean that I hoard my Christianity or that I keep it to myself for just me and my family. It doesn’t mean that I look at the dark world and I quietly give thanks that I’m not part of it. It doesn’t mean that I avoid those who don’t share my Faith like the plague as if I have something I deserve but they don’t. It doesn’t mean that the primary benefactor of my Faith is a local church and serving the needs inside of it. Determining to protect my Peace means that I refuse to be “spiritually lazy” and if my Faith is deliberately fueled each and every day, I’ll have Peace that surpasses all understanding as I head out to face the world for the King. I refuse to be “spiritually lazy”.

I think the world is filled with “spiritually lazy” people and I feel sorry for them for what they’re missing. I think they believe that it’s their job to avoid as much of this life as possible and they don’t think it’s “their job” to rub elbows with “the world”. They’ll sit at home with remote-controlled sermons and some of them even pray for the world, but they refuse to take action of their own. If we’re going to refer to ourselves as Christians, aren’t we supposed to behave like Christ? I Know that the One I Follow went out into the world and that He made it His Mission to be seen and to be heard no matter how bad things appeared to be. The One I follow was persecuted and hated and eventually killed for speaking the Truth, and He warns me that I will be too…IF I’m not “spiritually lazy” and IF I’m willing to leave my bubble. So, if I am serious about being a Follower of His, then I have to be willing to be uncomfortable and I have to refuse to be “spiritually lazy”. I have to equip myself in all the ways He tells me to and I have to throw my fear to the curb. I have to be willing to be mocked and ridiculed for speaking the Truth and I have to be willing to love the “unlovable” just like He does. My Faith has very little Purpose at all if I stay inside my bubble and if I only surround myself with my own family. Hoarding our Faith in the confines of our homes falls painfully short of what we’re Instructed to do; “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”. My Job Description makes no allowance for me to be “spiritually lazy” and the One I Follow won’t be okay if I am. This is the key to Obedience and Everlasting Peace no matter what.

I may have been inclined to be a little lazy on this dreary morning but I’ll never be inclined to be “spiritually lazy”. I know what’s expected of me by the One who died for me, and although I haven’t “mastered” every step yet, my Heart is willing.

How about you?