All for the want of a nail...

This is a reprint of a previous blog, but it did me good to read it again. 

 

Today was one of those, "I'm unmotivated" mornings. Actually, the entire weekend has been that way. I've got a lot that needs to be done, but I don't really want to do anything - except maybe play games on Facebook. I did finally manage yesterday to tackle a couple of the items on my list and "Surprise!" they didn't take nearly as long as I feared they would. You'd think that those small victories would have motivated me this morning, but they didn't. Instead I found myself just sitting there, staring at the computer and thinking to myself, "I just don't want to get up and get dressed to go to church this morning. I can miss one day - it's not that big of a deal." Then I read my devotional for today....

In this morning's devotion, the author mentioned that the enemy strikes us in our area of weakness. Yikes - I knew immediately what my area was - complacency! You know - that place where you get comfortable and just don't want to do anything. I'm not talking about comfortable on the couch - although that is a pretty good picture of the situation. I'm talking about comfortable with the way things are in your life but unwilling to do much of anything to keep them that way. I kind of picture someone floating along in a row boat, figuring they are in a good spot so they just stop rowing. Only problem is, boats don't tend to just stay - they drift!

I figured I was getting a bit of kick in the pants reminding me that I did indeed need to make the effort to get to church, so I picked my lazy self up and got ready to go. Once there, I listened to the worship song and one verse just jumped out at me - "We offer all to the one who saves..." Was I really offering all? If I offer my life as a sacrifice, how can I then say, "but You don't really need/want this part...it's such a tiny thing." Can I say, "I just don't feel like doing this today" if I am a sacrifice? I'm not much of a sacrifice if I just keep on climbing off the altar and doing my own thing, now am I?

It's not that I am trying to be rebellious, I just figure my small part in the whole doesn't make any real difference. I can just sit this one out and it will be no big deal. Then I remembered this old proverb (no idea when the last time was I actually heard this so it MUST have been the Holy Spirit that brought it to my memory. It's not a Bible type proverb, but wise all the same.) 

For Want of a Nail

For want of a nail the shoe was lost. For want of a shoe the horse was lost. For want of a horse the rider was lost. For want of a rider the battle was lost. For want of a battle the kingdom was lost. And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.

To me it may seem like such a small part, but if God wants it, how can I refuse? I want to learn to   live my life in such a way that I realize EVERY part is His and live my life as worship to Him. Can I have the same attitude in going to work as I do in going to church - that both are an act of worship? Can cleaning my house become as much an act of worship as singing in the choir (something you really don't want me to do by the way.) Can I even view exercise as an act of worship, giving Him the very best I have to give?

As I mentioned, the enemy attacks in our area of weakness, and for me that's complacency - taking things for granted. I wonder, have I become so familiar with church, the scripture, worship,  and those in my church family that I am taking them for granted...thinking they will always be there? What about in my work? Have I become complacent? Complacency at work leads to mistakes and missed opportunities. Complacency in relationships leads to not knowing one another and drifting apart. Complacency with eating habits can lead to unhealthy weight gain or issues with your health. Complacency in exercise can lead to loss of muscle mass and the ability to lead an active life. I can't really think of any area of my life where complacency leads to something good.

 

So what do I do? According to Romans 12, I need to offer up my ENTIRE life as a sacrifice and not become complacent...not conform to this world. I can't let the enemy convince me that some area is unimportant or that my small "nail" won't make much difference at all. It's time to get up off my spiritual, emotional, or actual couch and start living like a sacrifice....TODAY!

Romans 12

The Message (MSG) Place Your Life Before God

 ^1-2 So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.