Día Cinco: Más Difícil

Today is day 5 and its getting more and more difficult. I've had to consciously avoid TV today, which isn't something that I'd had to deal with yet. I think that is the worst for me, just because I'm so used to doing things while keeping an eye on the television. I've tried to instead replace that with worship music, which so far has helped a little....but not the visual aid part of it. Its been a challenge, but what is a fast without a challenge?

Something that I realized a few months ago was that I was seriously lacking the word of God. I had worship playing all day long, but I was spending absolutely no time in the word that he gave us. One reason was because I found it kinda boring, the other was because I didn't feel like I had time. So, I started praying....God, please give me a hunger for your word. Please help me to understand it.

And guess what? I'm totally interested. Since then I've had the opportunity to really get into the Hebrew and Greek origins of the bible, and it has fascinated me.

The other day I started reading Psalm 119, just because I have admittedly never read it before. I think it slightly intimidated me because I didn't think I could get all of it maybe. Hah. Anyhow, I've been reading it in its original divisions, which is only a few verses at a time. The unknown author of 119 writes about his hunger to know God....to really, really know him. Not only that, but he talks about what God has promised us relating to the word. I think that the author had a genuine hunger to know God's words...His commandments, promises, wisdom, etc.

"How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to your word. With all my heart I have sought you; do not let me wander from your commandments." v. 9-10

Thats just one example. Its awesome how God gets you interested in the Word and then shows you how important it is.

Anyway, so thats been one thing. Another has been the thing of wholeheartedly pursuing God. what. a. topic. I've been thinking lately, God, how can I seriously wholeheartedly pursue you? Its one thing to say it, its another to live it is something I've found. Psalms and Proverbs have a lot to say about what wholeheartedly pursuing God looks like, which is awesome. This time God brought me to two specific passages in Jeremiah 29:11-14 and Matthew 6 though.

I think everyone has heard this passage. I have it on a plaque of wood in my room. It sometimes seems overused.....what happens when you understand it though?

"'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord. 'Plans for welfare and not for calamity, to give you a future and a hope. 'Then you will call upon me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all of your heart. 'I will be found by you,' declares the Lord."

God has plans for us. Huge, monstrous, awesome plans for us. I was listening to Bill Johnson earlier today and he was talking about becoming a part of ministries. If we "marry" ourselves to other believers, then their good news becomes our good news. Its exciting for everyone. There's a story that he told about three men, one said, "I'm laying a floor," the other said, "I'm building bricks," and the other said, "I'm building a cathedral." What happens when we aren't just doing our part in the body of Christ, but we're also looking at the big picture....the "cathedral." God has plans for US as a body, and all of the plans that he has for us individually line up with that. I'm not talking about church-goers. I'm talking about the body of Christ.

Anyway, thats not exactly what I was getting at. The next part says, "you will pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart. And I will be found by you...." and so on so forth. The key here for me is search because that is the action behind pursuing God wholeheartedly. What does that look like? Proverbs 25 talks about the glory of Kings is to search out a matter. So we know its big stuff to search something out wholeheartedly. But what does it look like? For me, this is where Matthew 6 comes in....

I think I used Matthew 6 in a recent blog post about worry. I don't really want to summarize, just scroll down a bit and read the post :) The point is, I've been in Matthew 6 lately. Right before the passage about anxiety, it talks about fasting (haha) and treasure. What the heck does treasure have to do with pursuing God, right?

¹⁹Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.²⁰"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; ²¹for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

Just in case you didn't catch that last part...where your treasure is there your heart will be also. Where is our treasure? Ok, so maybe we totally aren't attached to material things ("treasures")....what about our time? Energy? How about being inconvenienced? Or taking away "that" which we can't live without? When we don't have all of our valuable or "treasured" areas of life sown into heaven, then our heart isn't completely pursuing the Father.

It cross-references to Matthew 19:21 where Jesus is talking to the rich young ruler who wants to know how to get into heaven and Jesus says to go sell his possessions and follow him, and he will have treasure in heaven. Great! So all you have to do is sell all of your possessions? :) no. for me this is also about giving all of yourself up ("selling" in a sense) for those that God puts in your path.

It also cross-references to a really cool verse in I Timothy.

¹⁸Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share,¹⁹storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.

This also relates to giving yourself up for others. We've loosed this in heaven, because we loosed it on earth. Is thatsn't that cool? It also say we "take hold of that which is life indeed." which is Jesus. That sounds like wholehearted pursuit to me.

Ok, well I think I've about worn out my blog for tonight. I hope someone got something out of my rambling :) have a wonderful night, world.

Abby