"Are you tired? "
A friend asked me this the other day.
I honestly answered, “sometimes.”
I have no doubt that she was assuming that I was tired from being mom to 7 kids…In the middle of a global pandemic, government enforced lockdown, and potential economic failure. And truth be told, sometimes I am tired.
However, if I am honest, I am not tired from being mom, chef, housemaid, doctor, teacher, or friend. When I get tired, it is because I get tired of my thoughts…being too caught up in my own head. I get tired of taking my thoughts captive and living in the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, and self-control, Galatians 5:?)
God’s grace is completely sufficient for me to do all the things I need to do as Mom. Maybe not all the things I want to do, but for sure all the things I need to do.
When I walk through the fruits of the spirit in my mind, I can become overwhelmed, yet I think it is important to evaluate ourselves often. Love. Love is easy when I am surrounded by my favorite people. Joy comes and goes but is ultimately my choice. God has given me a hope and peace that is eternal through his promise of eternal life because of what Jesus did on the cross. Still working on God-like patience. Kindness and goodness will never be fully complete, but I think I am kind to others. Faithfulness. Self-control.
Who am I kidding? All of these take time…and a dying to self.
Yet the more that I get to know myself, the more I would rather become less and allow God to become more (John 3:30).
So why do I become tired?
Because I am trying too hard in my own strength.
I am keeping my focus on myself and not on the One who holds the universe together.
I recently read somewhere that you become like who you spend time with. This concept is also Biblical. 1 Corinthians 15:33 says, “bad company corrupts good morals.” The same is true with Jesus.
You become more like Jesus the more time you spend with Him. He rubs off on you.
When life becomes hard and I become tired, that is a tell-tale sign that I am living too much in my own strength and I need to spend more time with the One who is my example. The author of the fruits of the spirit.
Becoming like Jesus also takes on a domino effect. As I spend more time with Jesus and allow Him to live more and more in me, this rubs off on my children. More than anything I want my children to live lives that honor God.
What am I doing today to help that desire for their lives become a reality?
Come on self…remember the truths you KNOW…
My soul finds rest in God alone;
My salvation comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation;
He is my fortress, I will never be shaken.
-Psalm 62:1-2
Our culture tells us to relax, watch a movie, read a book, take a nap. Yet our souls crave our Creator.
We will not find rest in anything other than Jesus. It is a truth that I all too often forget. A strong foundation of my life that becomes clouded due to the schemes of the enemy.
Today I will choose to live by the words of John.
“He must become greater; I must become less.”
Our lives and our legacy depend on us becoming more like Jesus.
Living out the fruits of the spirit should not feel like a burden, but rather a joy. Spending time with the giver of life is the rest our souls crave. Others will see and take notice.
Let's leave a legacy!
Comments