Hey everyone, I’m liking this “highly effective” thing. It’s how I like to think about myself: “highly effective.” But when I dare to look at the “seven habits” (check out Monday’s post) I change my mind. Don’t get me wrong, I’m highly effective at some things…eating, sleeping, sitting, and how about playing? Wait…I think I hear my mom coming…just a second…oh, sorry everyone, I’m supposed to be writing a serious post here. We are gonna have to save the rest of my highly effective activities for another time.
Okay, serious start…It’s time for “highly effective habit” #2—She maintains the practice of the spiritual disciplines. Two years ago, I had the huge privilege of leading a discipleship group full of godly women in which we took nine months to study biblical womanhood in a more in-depth way. We read many books and articles and listened to lots of messages. We had discussions and even took a personal retreat. We also kept track of our personal practice of the spiritual disciplines. We wrote down how long we spent with the Lord each day, and at each meeting we went around the group and read these times aloud.
At the end of the year, I had everyone fill out an evaluation form—to find out what had been most helpful and what could be improved upon. What was the answer to the “most helpful” question on almost every form? I wouldn’t have guessed, but it was our little practice of keeping track of our times with the Lord.
You see, the spiritual disciplines were reaping big fruit in the lives of these women, some of whom had never had a consistent practice of seeking the Lord. But after doing so for nine months, they were different. The gospel had become more amazing to them. Their desire to fight sin had grown. They had experienced God’s amazing promise: that He will draw near to us when we draw near to Him (James 4:8).
The practice of the spiritual disciplines is a little like planting a seed. (Please ignore the fact that anything I have ever planted has died, and try to stick with me here.) You plant a tiny seed in the dirt and you wait…water…wait… water. (I know that there is a little more to it than that, but you get the picture). It takes time. The plant only grows after consistent, faithful tending to the seed.
I met with the Lord this morning. I’m looking pretty much the same as I did yesterday (enjoying a huge glazed donut—the baby asked for it). Mike hasn’t told me that I look more holy than the day before. But as I read the Word and prayed this morning, I was watering. Lord willing, I will wake up tomorrow morning and do the same thing. Morning after morning of watering and waiting, and I will eventually see a little green thing sticking up out of the dirt. Growth! More watering, more waiting—more growth!
Is seeking the face of God a consistent practice in your life? If not, then may I encourage you to carefully consider how to begin. Start small. Set reasonable goals. None of this, “tomorrow morning is the day that I start waking up at 2 a.m. and spend 3 hours in prayer and Bible study.” But rather, what does faithfulness look like for you right now? What time do you need to wake up to make it happen? How long do you need to spend? Get specific. Get radical. Consider, like my discipleship group, asking someone to hold you accountable. Open up this area of your life to another and receive the grace of God that accompanies humility. You will soon reap a precious harvest—growth in godliness.
