The Difference – Day 2 of 2

Welcome back, friends. When we last spoke, I mentioned an antidote, a recipe, or a solution to the dilemma we sometimes face when others seek to demean, diminish, or destroy us with their words and actions. We’ll get to that in a minute, but first I’d like to share some exciting news. You may have noticed that I haven’t been posting much in the past few months; and prior to that, my posts were few and far between. Well, at the end of 2018, I made a decision to go back to school, and I started Seminary in January. Exciting, right? I’m not sure what God will have me do with a Divinity Degree, but I do perceive that he’s doing something new — especially with speaking.

This past weekend, I gave my first talk as a Seminarian. I spoke about Spiritual Disciplines and really focused on the disciplines of abstinence. Until one month ago, I wasn’t even scheduled to speak on this topic. In fact, I didn’t even know enough about the topic until my first class as a Seminarian. The more I studied the disciplines, the more I wanted to share my discoveries. When the person scheduled to speak on this topic needed to switch with me due to a conflict, I heard God tell me this was my opportunity and to seize it. Well, I didn’t recall him telling me it was Seizing Season, so I respectfully asked to speak on this topic, and it was given to me. During my Seizing Season, God has cloaked me with a gentle boldness that I’ve never had before. I’ve always had the boldness, but the gentleness is definitely something new.

During my talk to a group of women in leadership, I spoke about my recent personal retreat. I shared with them that I needed to practice the discipline of solitude (as I do often) so that I could turn down the volume of the noisy world around me. Oft times, I couple solitude with prayer or complete silence. For me, solitude and silence is a great recipe for hearing God’s voice clearly. I encouraged the ladies to get away within the next month to practice the disciplines of abstinence, and I gave them a planning worksheet to aid them in prepping for their time with God.

So, what about that antidote, recipe, or solution to the dilemma we sometimes face when others seek to demean, diminish, or destroy us with their words and actions? It’s really simple, and the haters in your life actually got it right. The solution to this problem is also mathematical — He must become greater; I must become less. ~John 3:30

The more time you intentionally spend in God’s presence, studying his word, and immersing yourself in the Gospels, the less of YOU there will be. You see, you can’t control too many things in this world, but you do have some control over what you store in your heart. Scripture reminds us that what’s in our hearts will inevitably come out of our mouths. I pray that what comes out is tender and seasoned with salt. The more time you spend studying the life of Jesus and applying these discoveries to your daily life, the more you will become like him. Eventually, you, too, will perceive that God is doing something new in your life. May our Sovereign Lord open the eyes of your heart so that you may love like him, minister like him, and lead like him. May blessings abound! <3

NOTE – If you enjoyed this two-day series, share it with friends, reblog, comment, and follow my blog. Many thanks! Missed Day One. Read it here.