Reflections

Do you ever have one of those moments when you stop and reflect on life? I had that experience one week ago today. I attended a community prayer meeting and had a wonderful time with God. When it was all said and done that prayer encounter with the Lord caused me to spend the rest of the day reflecting on Him and my role in the Kingdom of God.

There was a time in society when people were encouraged to think deeply and reflect. The intellect was stimulated with thought provoking questions and truths. There was a time when reading a book was a more common use of time than listening to the radio or watching television. Today there is little time to read even though we have access to more information than ever. We are trained to listen to sound bites on the evening news or catch the headlines on web but when do we ever digest the sound bites and reflect on the implications of it all.

Our days are scheduled well in advance with multiple appointments and commitments. Even when we do schedule vacations we feel the pressure to squeeze as much in as we can and justify doing so in order to get the most bang for our buck. In all of this there is little if any time to reflect. Reflect on the pace of our lives. Reflect on the condition of our families. Reflect on our relationship with the Lord. Reflect on the spiritual condition of our churches, communities, and country. We often make next to no time to reflect on the scriptures and let truth fall into our hearts.

It is early on a Tuesday morning and I am at the office alone well before the sun comes up. I have spent a great deal of time reflecting and the truth is I do not like some what I see in my own life. There are far too many inconsistencies. I do not like the condition of my walk with the Lord. Though I love Him and desire Him it seems I have lost a deep seated passion to run hard after Him. [Ps 63:8] KJV I miss the intensity that has often gripped me to know God and chase after Him in relentless pursuit. It is easy to fall into the rut of going through the motions but we were created for much more than that.

As I reflect I am brought face to face with the truth that our enemy never ceases trying to trip us up. I was given a grim reminder as another minister fell into gross immorality ruining his testimony, destroying his family and ministry, and hurting a church and community. This is a startling reminder to wake up and realize that we might be saved but our testimony is not safe until we get to Heaven. We are to endure to the end and I know that on any given day if my flesh is not crucified and if I am not walking in the Spirit I could be tripped up just like many others have been before me. This is a sobering thought.

As I reflect on my life I see that so much of what I am called to do gets pushed to the side to be involved in many things others want me to do. I know I have to be in control of my time and devote myself to prayer, study, and writing while not neglecting the flock God has entrusted to me. There never seems to be enough hours in the day. I leave the office everyday wishing I had more time to read, write, pray, and study. I have to make choices about the best use of time and that can only come when through reflection I contemplate how I am living each day. Am I living with purpose?

Reflecting is good but I am not going to waste all my days looking back. I have to learn from my past mistakes and look forward. Paul wrote it like this, “Brethren I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet, but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” [Phil 3:13-14]

Reflecting helps me to run harder, to push forward in the faith, to pursue the prize of knowing Christ more fully and serving Him with more passion and devotion. I am thankful for the mental ability to reflect. God is using it to help me run the race of life with more purpose and more effectiveness.

I enjoy long trips alone with the radio off as I am alone with my thoughts. Life used to have more time for this. When you rode a horse you had built in time to reflect. If you plowed a field you could use your time for thinking and pondering life. I often done the same thing while sitting on a lawn mower or riding a bike. We must build in times in our lives when we think and reflect over how we are living. That must be evaluated in the light of the scriptures.

Even athletic teams know the value of reflection as they view game film to learn how they can correct mistakes. It would do all of us good to do a little post game analysis on each day. Where did we succeed? Where do we need improvement?

Take some time today to reflect on your life and your relationship with the Lord. Think long hard about the deep issues in your life and pray for God’s direction and solution. Let us present to Him a heart of wisdom and let the Lord teach us to value the number of our days. [Ps 90:12]