D. L. Moody was one of the greatest evangelists during the 19th century. Hundreds of people were impacted and transformed through his ministry. One day, a person came to Moody and asked, “Who has been your biggest obstacle in the ministry? Let me know, and I’ll take care of him."
Moody replied, “The biggest obstacle in my ministry has been D. L. Moody.”
In life, you will always have obstacles, preventing you from reaching your dream and vision. But one of the biggest obstacles is not ‘something’ but it’s often nothing other than yourself. A follower of Jesus will always seek to conquer oneself before trying to impact others.
In the 80s, one of the great preachers of the time was a televangelist named Jimmy Swaggart. His sermons on TV reached millions people around the world. Some thought he would take the place of Billy Graham. Jimmy Swaggart’s fame and popularity reached the heavens; but in a single moment, all of the fame and influence collapsed into rubbles. He had been a part of a sex scandal. Who destroyed him? Who sabotaged his life? It was none other than himself.
One of my favorite writers is Gordon MacDonald, who wrote a wonderful book called Ordering Your Private Life. Gordon MacDonald was a rising star among the biblical teachers and writers, yet his life was ruined. He could not conquer his own devils inside of him and eventually yielded to disobedience. With God’s grace and forgiveness, he turned his failure into an opportunity to make his life right the second time around; and today he has gained greater fame and influence than before. He encourages and pleads with people to bring order to their private life!
Apostle Paul, in his attempt to bring order in his inner world writes: “I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave...” [1 Corinthians 9:27]. And he calls the disciples of Jesus to do whatever it takes to bring order to their private life as well.
Friends, as followers of Jesus, we must find ourselves before our Lord each day to reflect and come honestly to take care of our inner private world. Without hesitation let us go to a place of solitude to meet with Jesus who will encounter us to shape and encourage us to keep on keeping on in carving our future in Him.
Read the first chapter of Mark and see how busy Jesus was every day. He woke up early in the morning and he did not lay his head until late at night. Yet, Jesus always found Himself alone in a solitary place before His Father. He sought a place of solitude to reflect and pray for his vision and purpose in order to continue His journey as the Christ. Nothing could hinder Him from spending moments of solitude with His Father.
In solitude, He met with His Father. He did the work of self-discipline, self-control, and self conquering in the presence of God as He reflected on His purpose!
Let us find ourselves before the Father each day as we follow Jesus. Jesus is our guide and He will lead our path. Start with a bit of scripture each day and meditate on the voice of God through the Word. Friends, when you prepare yourself in the Lord, God will lay opportunities to set you up for success. It all starts in solitude with Him! As we approach Christmas, as we continue our journey through this month with our service focusing on Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, and Love All, let us truly see where God wants us to give materially and relationally! And most importantly, let’s do them as he guides our thoughts and hearts. Blessings.
"But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" ~ I Corinthians 15:57
"In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us!" ~Romans 8:37
** check the following website out to get started: http://www.duranno.com/livinglife/english_su06.asp?mag=f
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