Spiritual sitting ducks

Idleness is not a good idea. A former pastor told of a time in college when he was on the football team. He’d been benched for some reason (injury?) and was not playing with the team. At first he cheered for them just as any team member would do, but over time noticed himself becoming critical of the team. Soon he was criticizing the coach too. He said he eventually found himself hoping the other team would win.

Spiritual inactivity is not a good idea either. Taking time off from teaching a Bible class was God’s idea, and I did need a rest. However, I found myself being tested and needing to watch that I didn’t fall into criticizing the team hard at work in my church. I also have had to watch myself in areas that I never realized were problems. My mother used to say that the devil found work for idle hands. I know what she means. When I’m not “pressing on” he keeps offering me stuff to do that would only mess with my life.

I’ll be teaching again in the later part of March, and also have been asked to do a major presentation at our district convention. Both involve preparation and study, and this has taken me off that bench, yet I still feel a bit “out of it” as if I need a spiritual tune-up of some kind. Friday and yesterday helped. We had a ladies retreat at our church with a vibrant missionary speaker. Her work and life story inspired and encouraged everyone.

Today’s devotional reading is something like yesterday’s in that the focus is on my need to confess my sins and on God’s power to clean up my life. The verse is:

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Psalm 51:10)

This are David’s words. He had been idle too. His men were at war but he was at home in his palace. One night he stood on the roof top and saw a beautiful woman taking a bath. The rest of the story is briefly outlined in Friday’s post.

After this, David repented. The word “repent” is not about feeling sorry as much as it is about turning from something to something else. For me, it could be about simply getting off the bench and back into action, but here it is about forsaking sin and embracing the Lord. Without repentance, God cannot forgive or cleanse my life.

This verse is significant in another way. The verb translated “create” is the same one used in Genesis 1:1 and refers to what only God can do. David asked that his heart be made new, that he be restored and made steadfast in his determination to remain a “man after God’s own heart.” God is the only source of such a renewal. No one can make that happen, just God.

The devotional reading repeats that a true confession of sin includes repentance. I’ve sometimes held back on confession because I was not ready to let go of a sin. It is fairly common for young Christians to tell the Lord we are sorry for a particular sin that we commit, even thank Him for already forgiving it, but that is all. No change happens because repentance is missing.

I’ve realized that I need to hate my sin as much as God hates it. I have to see that it is destructive to me and to my relationship with Him. He has shown me that I must also desire His presence, desire also an open and clear communication with Him that is not clouded by anything that displeases Him. I have to want to be on the team, not critical of anything my Coach is doing, or the other players, and certainly not hoping for sin to score any points.

It has been nice to have a rest. Preparing lesson material and teaching takes much time and energy. Serving the Lord in this way also involves spiritual warfare as the enemy does not want me to be effective or others to learn.

However, too much time out is also dangerous. Spiritual muscles can atrophy. My heart can get lazy and my skills can become dull. I’ve found staying “in shape” while not in action much more difficult than it is when God gave me plenty to do.

Not only that, I’ve seen that this ‘vacation’ has had far more purpose than I expected at the beginning. I am more aware of the dangers of not being involved. Serving the Lord can make us targets, but as my dad used to say, it is harder to hit a moving target. When someone is a Christian and not serving the Lord, they are simply sitting ducks.