Corona Devo 157

Ladies and Gentleman, Start....Your....Engines!

Well, we have been waiting months for "it" to occur, and I think someone has (finally!) taken their finger off of the "Pause" button of our lives.  

Can you feel it?  School, practices, church, gatherings (with distance)!  Slowly but for-sure: The wheels of our life-trains are beginning to chug in a forward motion again.  

We have been suspended in Corona-animation for so many months that as activities (and let's be honest: responsibilities) resurface, I am caught off-guard, even though we have been begging for this to begin happening. 

And a few old "friends" that I have not missed during the Corona slow-down have started knocking at my door and are even trying to barge in on me and my spirit: Frantic Fran, Stressed Sally and Mean Molly.  These three are best friends, and (at least in my life), they often pal around together.  When one visits me, the other two are close by.  

I have not missed them at all, and I like myself much better when they are not hanging around or ringing my doorbell.

Offer sacrifices to the Lord in the right spirit and trust in the Lord.  ~Psalm 4:5

God jolted me to attention with this verse today.  The first thing to scream out from the verse was "in the right spirit".  I appreciate that God loves me enough to call me out on my crankiness.  As appointments and commutes and busyness begin to stack up like a Lego wall in front of us, we have to be intentional to stay "in the right spirit", which means, to stick with Jesus and let His spirit be the one that leads us and permeates our mind and attitude.  

"In the right spirit" is not possible when I am harried, rushed, or superficially checking off "God-time" on a mental list.  We can't get "in the right spirit" when we are limited by those things.  God is unlimited, and He requires us to shed the restrictions of the tiny box we often try to shove Him into when seeking to keep our lives neat and scheduled. 

God reminds us, calls to us, and disciplines us to Offer sacrifices to the Lord in the right spirit and trust in the Lord.  ~Psalm 4:5.  God sees our current situations.  He sees the bullet-trains of our lives lurching forward again, and He doesn't want to stop the train, but I believe He wants us to prepare for the ride differently than we did pre-Corona.

What if we got "in the right spirit" and concentrated on staying connected with God and were expectant to from Him on our daily decisions and life changes?  Then we could Offer sacrifices to the Lord in the right spirit and trust in the Lord.  ~Psalm 4:5

"Offer sacrifices" ~   Who we are in Christ can be a sacrifice to Him--if we are in the right spirit.  When my friends Frantic Fran, Stressed Sally and Mean Molly are visiting, I am NOT "in the right spirit".  Nothing that I offer to the Lord, my family or the world is in the "right spirit" when I am frantic, stressed and mean.  

And when we offer sacrifices in the wrong spirit, then they are not acceptable sacrifices and I am not even sure they are sacrifices at all.  

If given out of obligation, anger or routine--is it really a sacrifice?  For example, my household duties like cooking/cleaning/laundry (fill-in-your-own-tasks-here)--If I am a complete bear about performing them for my family, can I really count this as a way that I "serve" my family as a wife and mom and claim them as "a sacrifice" to the Lord?  When I am "in the right spirit", I can feel the spiritual satisfaction in the gifts of organization and nurture that God gave women, and I can Offer sacrifices (fill-in-your-own-tasks-here) to the Lord in the right spirit.  God made us to serve Him, and one of the ways we serve Him is by serving and caring for others.  Lord, please help us to stay in the right spirit so that we can offer these sacrifices to you with the right heart.

Who we are in You, Lord can be a sacrifice to You, Lord, if we are "in the right spirit".  Otherwise, it is not a sacrifice (set-apart gift/an offering given in humility and love).  If our offerings are forced, like a tight smile when we are over-run, over-tired and over-booked, then we miss the mark of serving You with them.

Offer sacrifices to the Lord in the right spirit and trust in the Lord.  ~Psalm 4:5

We can TRUST You, Lord!  This verse is like a math equation with the solution included.  If we Offer sacrifices to the Lord and (+) can stay connected to Him, then we stay in the right spirit, and then (=) our lives and schedules and attitudes will stay on track because we trust in the Lord.  Each piece connects to the others and creates a balanced equation.

Lord, as we take the emergency break off of the Corona wheels, and schedules begin to churn into motion once again, please do not let us miss the mark in living for you in the right spirit.  

Lord, just for today, help us to shut the front door on Frantic Fran, Stressed Sally and Mean Molly.  And instead, allow us to Offer sacrifices to the Lord in the right spirit and trust in the Lord.  ~Psalm 4:5

Blessings,

sarah

https://sarahsundy04.blogspot.com 


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