Daily Devotional – 1/16/17 “It’s time!”

Here it is, the third week of the New Year and you’ve been doing almost everything right. You’ve been to church all three Sundays, bible study once and you’ve even been faithful to the church’s fast. You thought about the gym but you aren’t there yet. But no matter what you do your life still feels like it’s in a downward spiral. You’re emotionally drained because it never seems like you’re doing enough. Bills still behind, children still acting crazy, spouse looking at you funny and the job; well that’s an entire different story. You’ve been praying, a lot, and nothing has manifested. You’ve been to the altar and still nothing. Turned over a new leaf in your life and still nothing. Well beloved, maybe it’s because you’ve yet to really let go and let God. Yea, you’ve said it but if you take a ‘for real’ good look you may just see you haven’t made a clean break like you say you have. Go on, check your phone. Do you still have the old text messages you occasionally go through? Do you still answer the inboxes? Are you still liking the Instagram pictures although you’re not friends on Facebook? Still checking to see who they’re dating this week? Body still tingling from the thoughts of him or her? Still dreaming about them? Do you still, sometime, look through the old pictures? Go on and look but this time look for real. Do you see it? Do you see the attachment you still have to your past? Do you see that you’re still holding on to the stuff you told God you were letting go of? See it? You don’t have to lie to me, I don’t have a man in this fight but when are you going to be honest with yourself?

You do know the heart never lies, right? You do know that staying connected to emotional stuff can drain you spiritually, right? Why do you think you can’t move on to any other relationship? Why do you think you’re suffering spiritually at the new church? You do understand that trying to build a new relationship when you still have access to the old is like a recovering alcoholic owning a bar; it won’t work. At some point and time you’ve got to surrender, for real. At some place in your life you’ve got to let go, for real. You’ve got to give up all rights and privileges to the past. You’ve got to sever the ties because if you don’t you’ll find yourself being pulled back into that direction. This is why one of the steps to overcoming an addiction is staying clear of your triggers. Throw out the old shirt that has their smell, erase the voicemail and texts, remove them from your social media accounts, stop showing up just to support and cut the ties that bind. Forgive them and move on. Or if need be, apologize but move on. And this time when you pray, pray humbly asking God to remove all your shortcomings and He will. It’s time to say a final goodbye, write the eulogy, have the funeral and perform the burial.

James 4:7-10 (The Message Bible) says, “So let God work his will in you. Yell a loud no to the Devil and watch him scamper. Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time. Quit dabbling in sin. Purify your inner life. Quit playing the field. Hit bottom, and cry your eyes out. The fun and games are over. Get serious, really serious. Get down on your knees before the Master; it’s the only way you’ll get on your feet.”