Jeff Deitrich of Freedom Valley South Hanover shared an awesome sermon tonight at church.
A quick story he told somewhere in the middle really caught my attention.
A married couple Jeff knows wakes up every morning to run four miles. Well, every morning the wife runs four miles. Some mornings the husband stays behind. The man asked his wife one morning how it was that every single morning she made the choice to get out of bed and begin a four mile run.
Her response was that she doesn't make the choice every morning. She made the choice years ago. Every morning she simply decides not to second guess it.
She understands that the original choice was one that benefits her. She made it with a sound mind and an understanding that the hard work would be worth getting out of bed when she's as comfortable as can be.
This is living by principle rather than living by feeling.
Sometimes my prayer life frustrates me. Well, I guess sometimes I frustrate myself with the choices I make about my prayer life. Often my choice to spend time in prayer versus doing something else just comes down to what I feel like doing more. Just like the wife knew running was good for her, I know I NEED prayer. I know I am desperate for time alone with God and that very often as soon as I begin to pray, I wonder why I was so hesitant to push other things away before and just be with God.
I think this is a good challenge to start making decisions sooner. God is so ready and willing to help us decide how and by what standards we'll live our lives... if we'll just let him. He's a good, loving father who doesn't want us to live frustrated or live thinking we have to be flaky and controlled by feeling all the time.
God, tonight I choose to slow down and let you counsel me about the standards by which I make my decisions. I'm so thankful for your protection and guidance in my life but I know I'll have a lot of tough decisions in the future... and I want to be ready. You are so good to me, God. So patient and so kind to someone who tries to do things herself way too often. Thank you for loving me endlessly and caring so much about me that you want to help me instill these principles in my life now. I want to live my life with you making decisions that I can be proud of and that make even more room for my life to be full of all your goodness.
"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7
