The past week has been incredibly challenging. A two-month battle with a kidney stone is wearing on my physical side, while unrelenting financial attacks are wearing on my emotional side.
As one taught in the school of intercessory prayer, I understand the spiritual side of these challenges. Some things are cause-and-effect. For example, I unknowingly put something in my body that contributed to the creation of a stone. Add to that, that “things” wear out and cost money to repair or replace.
When you add the spiritual component to the mix—the adversary does not play fair and takes advantage of any opportunity he can—you find yourself in a stressful state of mind.
The wisdom of King Solomon offers some solutions to these challenges of life.
1—Keep vigilant watch over your heart; that’s where life starts.
Life begins in the heart, so guard it with all due diligence.
The way you guard the heart is by keeping short accounts of wrongs (perceived or otherwise)
done to you while you speak blessing over the one doing the wrong.
If you get angry, let it rise up, bubble over, and be done with it.
If you sin, be quick to ask for forgiveness.
2—Don’t talk out of both sides of your mouth;
In other words, mean what you say, and say what you mean. Playing both sides of an issue
will never produce a successful outcome.
3—keep your eyes straight ahead;
Horse trainers often place blinders on the head of the horse to prevent the animal from being
distracted by everything around it. Likewise, keep your eye on the goal and not on the
surroundings.
4-ignore all sideshow distractions.
Sideshow distractions are your adversary’s tactics to keep you bound at the moment. It
takes the power of God, the Holy Spirit, to learn how to ignore them. It is a process that a close
personal relationship with the Godhead enables you to accomplish.
5—Watch your step, and the road will stretch out smooth before you.
To watch your step means to pay attention to where you are going. Like driving a vehicle,
when you scan the road ahead, you can notice possible distracting and avoid them.
6—Look neither right or left;
This goes back to numbers 3 and 4. In other words, distractions are temptations, and
temptations are only as strong as your desire to yield to them. This, too, is a learning process
that a close personal relationship with the Godhead will enable you to overcome.
7—leave evil in the dust.
Leaving evil in the dust means you have overcome the distraction and can move
forward. When God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit become the focal point
of your life, you will only see evil in your rearview mirror.
Proverbs 4 The Message
It is time to know Jesus.
A close personal relationship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is an unexpected journey of discovery.