Week #5 – Being over Doing – The Refreshment of Perspective
So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 16:32-33
God is infinitely more concerned with who you are than in what you do. Do you believe that? I have come to that conclusion through my own study of Scripture and theology. It is not that God does not care about our work for the kingdom, but from the beginning he has been and will continue to be the ‘lover of our soul’ until the end of days. He seeks hearts first, and then hands. He wants our love, our submission to him, our total trust and our complete allegiance. These are matters that pertain to who we are. He seeks to shape our character, transform our nature and ‘make all things new’, including us.
Why then do we spend so much of our lives focusing on what we do. The eyes of God are searching to and fro across the earth for sets of eyes that are looking back for him. He is seeking men and women who want to be changed before they are charged. We are called first to be the people of God, and only secondly to do the work of God.
How much of your day today will be dedicated to opening yourself up so that God may shape your character, transform your heart and deepen your love for him? For every moment that you give over to that eternal work, your spirit will be refreshed. God is infinitely more concerned with who you are than in what you do.
Prayer
Gracious and loving God, thank you for loving my soul. Help me today to give my heart and soul over to you to be shaped and conformed to the image of your Son. Help me to stop, to make time, to be patient and to expect your transforming work in my life. Help me Lord to value a Christ-like character over a full schedule. Help me Lord to see life as you see it, and to set my priorities accordingly. Refresh my spirit, oh Lord, that I might more fully be the person of God you created me to be. In the name of the great transformer, Jesus Christ. Amen.
