It doesn't take much to get sluggish in the fast-paced, packed full of activity, world that we currently reside in. As a matter of fact, the Bible tells us it only takes "a little" to get to a difficult place.
"I went past the field of the sluggard, past the vineyard of the man who lacks judgment; thorns had come up everywhere, the ground was covered with weeds, and the stone wall was in ruins. I applied my heart to what I observed and learned a lesson from what I saw: A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest- and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man."
You notice it doesn't say a lot of sleep.... a lot of slumber.... a lot of folding of your hands. And also take note how poverty snuck up on him. A great plan of our enemy don't you think? I mean he is a deceiver. He does make himself the master of taking something our Lord meant for good...."rest"...and twist it in a way that it becomes harmful.
Why is it so important to have spiritual stamina? In 2 Timothy 3:1-9, Paul warns us of Godlessness in the Last Days.
....people will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them.
I want to make something very clear, Paul, a man of sound doctrine, confidence, steadfast faith and endurance and enduring love was not saying we should hate on these people or even talk badly of them. What he is saying is to be spiritually alert to recognize how toxic this can be for you to allow this to influence you. Yes, sometimes you just don't have a choice but to be surrounded by it. It's in the church, it's at your work, and sometimes it's in your family.
Take heart though! The Lord always provides what you need. Proverbs tells us that YOU need to pursue it. Studying and meditating on God's word is as vital to our souls as food is to our bodies. Without food we feel sluggish, shaky, grumpy, and often sick. It is the answer!
"All scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." @ Timothy 3:16-17
But after that....you gotta do something with that! We can not be Christians who just read a lot of His word and sit on it. It might hurt and get messy to actually use it. The analogy of the vineyard with weeds and thorns would have meant someone had to take care of that when they saw it. We've got this and He's got us!
Don't fool yourself and pretend that your vineyard is in tip-top shape if it's not.
Living this out daily,
The Mrs. Pastor
p.s. I'm close to hitting 6000 views on my blog. Who would have thought this would go anywhere?
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