Stop the Bleeding

 August 10, 2024

Saturday

Sometimes I believe that people enjoy being defeated. They never seem to take the actions they need to take to fix their problems. They are in debt past their ears and continue in it because they have given up being debt free. They have more than cluttered homes because they hardly ever throw things away. They like to say they want things clean and tidy but they never really make the hard decisions for throwing things away. They gain weight until they are uncomfortable but continue eating like they always did to gain even more weight. 

People don't understand that they need to first stop the bleeding. The actions they are comfortable taking are the actions that are causing their discomfort. They must stop doing what they are doing. Sometimes people say they have a different plan to rectify their problems. This gives them permission to continue in their problems. But it does not matter what their plans are if their plans are not working to fix the problem. They may need to set a new budget. They may need to set a goal of ridding themselves of all clothes that haven't been worn for a year. They may need to stop buying clothes until they donate those that haven't been worn. They may need to set out a diet plan. Whatever they need to do isn't what they are currently doing.

Some people have all of this in order. They are in-shape, tidy, and debt-free but their spiritual life is sorely lacking. The only time they work on it is when there is a crisis. They say that they believe but their actions reveal that they don't believe much.  They say they believe that God will supply their every need but hardly give God a tip much less a tithe. They say He is the most important person in their lives but they go to worship with others about twice a month. they say that they are growing in their faith but they are just as anxious as they were a year ago. Isn't it time to stop the bleeding here?

Sure, it is nice to stay at home Sundays and just relax after chasing everything else that we wanted to do every other day of the week. When you think about it, isn't this just like those who have messy houses, debt past their ears and flabby bodies? They aren't doing what they need to do to be in the best shape. Neither are those who are lax in their walk with God. They'll be fine as long as they don't run into a crisis. The problem is that we all eventually run into crises.

So, how do you stop this bleeding? It's simple: you turn away from what you are doing and walk with God by seeking God's kingdom to be the same in your life as it is in heaven and make His righteousness your own. In other words, you make a commitment today that things will change. You will no longer get distracted with other things. You will no longer miss church for lame excuses. You will not longer miss your morning quiet time because you just got too busy. You will no longer neglect praying for spiritual things. You will be His and accept all that He has for you.

And that's quite a lot. Once you truly have His presence in your life, you won't really miss the other stuff anyway.

Matthew 6:33 (NASB 2020) ³³ But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided to you.