CURBING THE FIZZLING

I wish all it took was a one time choice and I was secured for eternal life.

I wish overcoming one day’s struggle set me up for eternal victory.

I wish that my heart would get the holy memo and acknowledge God’s will without any explanations or excuses.

I wish my flesh would yield at my first command and instantly lose it’s grip on me.

I wish my passion didn’t have to die down every time my feelings ran on empty.

…and yet,

Life in itself does not offer me the luxury. Every waking day, I am required to not only make choices but to equally live by them. Is that why Paul said work out your salvation? (Philippians 2:12) Or that Dr. Luke said taking up the cross is a daily thing? (Luke 9:23). But I also find myself rejoicing in the process because if it were a one off arrangement, I would miss the unconditional love God extends as He draws me back to Him. I would miss the depth and intimacy I experience after I have wandered and realized that nothing could compare with Jesus, because what the world offers is unsatisfactory, they are only but broken cisterns that hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13)

Regardless of how disciplined you are or how much you love and are devoted to Jesus, you are bound to experience this fizzling or at least be on the verge of experiencing it. But you know what brings me comfort? God has placed the desire and the passion in me, that He alone can keep ablaze and He will work in me both to will and to do for His good pleasure (Philippians 2:13) . He wants the desire for Him to be in me just as much as I want it.

While there are factors involved such as the inworking of the Holy Spirit, your personal devotion, things which needless to say, I have no business in gauging, I hope some of the things shared below will translate into actionable prompts that will help in revitalizing your time with God.  But before I tell you what you already know and you are tempted to skim , let us start off with this : Simple Joys

SIMPLE JOYS

Each of us, if we truly admit it, has one or two “non spiritual, non-scriptural” reasons that keeps us coming back to the word and time with God. At the gates of heaven, we probably won’t be asked if we read our devotionals on a porch/balcony/patio or if we had breathtaking views to go with the activity or if we sipped coffee/tea while we flipped our purple/pink Bibles or if our journals were guided or if our drawings and journal entries included a matching drawing from the scripture reading or if our pens/markers/highlighters were from Crayola or Daily Grace Co or if the acrylic paint was better than water colors or if Maverick City Music was your background music as you lifted up your voice to heaven in prayer or if you read from original KJV or TPT. I honestly could go on and on. Each of us has unique preferences that spruce up our time with Jesus. It’s what I call simple joys. 

I am not advocating for a Jesus Plus gospel because Jesus alone is enough: Just Jesus . Our love for Him and the desire to be with Him is what propels us to seek communion. That is reason enough. However, I use everything to get me to Jesus even if it means it starts from being impelled by simple things like colored pens or tea in the morning with the primary motivation being that I long for my soul to be fed. These simple things are after all God’s creation right? (look at me trying to spiritualize them now lol) What is your poison? What are some that you enjoy? What are some that you could employ to brighten and spice your time with Jesus?

Here are a few things I have done and enjoyed this year:

1. Changing location ; for some of us who like rising before the sun’s out this may not really work in that specific time since cafes may not be opened but it is good to change your space. Even if it means moving from your little nook and reading on the carpet in another room or outside. Go for dates outside in cafes. If you are an early bird like me, do your QT but still go out later on in the day, it could be during your extended weekly Sabbath. Go on an actual physical date with Jesus. Carry all your supplies with you if you are like me or just a journal and go ponder over the revelations you have been receiving.
2. Instead of praying at your usual prayer altar at home, choose to go for a prayer walk. It doesn’t have to be a park with birds singing over you and trees swinging; it could just be a long stretch around your block. People may look at you weirdly especially if you make repeated rounds but I assure you you will have the time of your life.
3. Create spaces for accountability e.g. with a friend whom you will share your Quiet Time treasure discoveries with. Just recently I begun a weekly tradition of sharing my weekly QT Kairos with my Whatsapp contacts and it keeps me so refreshed. I occasionally have a sharing session with a friend or two during fellowship and this is so encouraging because the more I share, the more I remember and these repeated truths stay written on my heart.
4. During your prayer time, aside from  praying conversations with God verbally from your heart, take the Bible and pray the word of God. Read through those verses you are praying over or prayers that were prayed by people in the Bible (Psalms is a good place to start). It will even be easier if you have adopted a coding system as you highlight.

 

Now let me gently remind you what you know:

Consistency in showing up: As mentioned in a previous blog, what you commit to , you are inclined to show up for and it is by no means locking out other spontaneous times of fellowship or being legalistic in any way. I know routines can become dull and you are bound to feel the monotony but it is good if we still stick it out. I love what Baxter, as quoted in Joanna Weaver’s book, admits: that sometimes you may not have a “good time” but heaven sees and God appreciates the baby steps. He rejoices in you just showing up. One thing I learnt that I was deeply convicted of by the Holy Spirit is in terms of governing my Quiet Time and trying to assess it.  All God requires is we show up regularly and consistently. Our Quiet time will look differently in every season but the only thing that will matter is if we showed up. Baxter later adds just how he ended up having a conversation with his will and as a result ganged up and fought all the emotions that tend to give us rightly justified reasons why it is okay not to show up. Being the practical person that I am, I went a step further, adopted this and gave my will a name and every morning I humorously say “Ethan are you ready?” Yes I named my will Ethan . Bottom line is, until we fully wage war on the flesh , we will always be at crossroads .Do what you got to do to make the flesh lose it’s grip on you even if it means talking to your will and risking looking like an insane person. Build up your consistency anyway, anyhow.

Have a Plan: Again another arguable point since many would say just be led by the Spirit and flip open where He leads you to. I  hang on His leading but sometimes we have to intentionally place the fork and knife on an already set plate of food (the word of God) from existing plans. It doesn’t have to be a 365 year plan mapped out such that you know what you will be reading on 31st December, you could choose to read a chapter a day from a Bible book of your choosing ( you have 66 options)and see it through to the end but be sure to have a clue in regards to what you will read every morning .

Include a devotional/ Christian literature at the end of your daily reading. This will boost and compliment your quiet time and keep you adding your knowledge in the things of God and if you are lucky it could coincide with your personal reading and solidify all the truths you learn. Additionally, it also helps in your book reading culture.

Don’t let your devotional time go into a bland state. The less you feel like doing it, the more you should do it and include some spicing on the way if you may. Your time with God is important.

Let’s pray:

God, you are the God who is able to ignite the fire and fan the flame of my heart. You are the God who draws me back to you in loving kindness and loves me all the same even though I am prone to wander. Lord I pray that you would continuously ignite the fire in my heart. I want to burn for you. I want to stay burning. I do not want to be counted as lukewarm. Help me identify the things that may contribute to my faltering and help me stay in the place where all I want is you and all I seek is your way. Teach me to anchor my heart every morning, every hour, every minute and every second. I yield and surrender. I invite the working of the Holy Spirit to rule and reign in my heart and over all the affairs of my life and whatever simple joys I choose to employ let them be just means to get to you. In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.  

You are light and so loved. Stay anchored and keep His light shining through.