Fervent, Strategy #8: Pressure

Satan doesn't want us to be well rested and content. "He hopes to over load your life and schedule, pressuring your to constantly push beyond your limits, never feeling permission to say no (Deuteronomy 5:15) (Page 16)." It's time to regain that ground!

Make no mistake, he is predictable. Be sure that the words to follow are not just what Priscilla "would do" but what Satan does do. "If I were your enemy, I'd make everything seem urgent, as if it's all yours to handle. I'd bog down your calendar with so many expectations you couldn't tell the difference between what's important and what's not. Going and doing guilty for ever saying no, trying to control it all , but just being controlled by it all instead...If I could keep you busy enough, you'd be too overwhelmed to even realize how much work you're actually saving me. (Page 133)" Did that ring any bells or raise a red flag for you?

Was one of the following thoughts "But no, those things I do are important. That can't be Satan attacking me."? Just because it's a "good thing" doesn't mean its a "God thing".  Here are four ways Priscilla encourages us to step back and see the big picture. (This is found on page 145)

• "Check your schedule for patterns where you're allowing yourself to be enslaved to things that aren't truly as critical, important, or indispensable as they seem."
• Check your motivations for why you say yes to so many things and why you feel such a guilt and loss of importance for saying no."
• Check to see if the places where you most typically overload your time involve people or goals or interest areas that you've elevated to the status of idols."
• Check how much emphasis you place on the current status of your wardrobe, house, car, job fitness, education, and any external measure that causes you to feel defensive, pressured to keep up and compare."
  

Obviously, it's easier to rehash this book out or list Bible verses but the point of me blogging this is to show how God is making a difference in my life. It is tempting to not be vulnerable with you. However, God gave me this life and it is His to glean the glory from. I want to stop right here and apologize if I've given into that temptation and got "surfacy" with you.

That being said, what I wrote previous was what Priscilla expressed about pressure. I'm here to reveal what God said to me. I really keep finding myself amazed by how compassionate, intimate and available. He humbles Himself to human level because He is crazy in love with us, with me! He IS eager to save! That one thought alone has my reeling.

Priscilla paralleled the similarities between a lifestyle of pressure and slavery. When what's pressuring us calls the shots instead of God we find ourselves slaves to the agenda. The point about this that stuck me was that despite being declared "free" slaves don't know how to actually be free.

God not only frees us, through Jesus, but He makes a way for us to be totally free. Being free by name is only scratching the surface. We are not slaves to the pressure but family members of the Creator. Our identity and worth is in Him alone. Any other identity is an illusion.

This brought be to reflect on the chains He has cut me out of. Porn, anxiety, anger, immorality, lust, relative reality, pride, idolatry...the list goes on. In naming these chains I am not saying I don't still struggle. I am temped to put them back on (some more than others) but by God's grace and unconditional love I am no longer a slave to them. They no longer control me.

As one thought often leads to another I was thinking about how completely insignificant I am in the vastness of this universe. There are galaxies upon galaxies out there but God, the Mighty Creator of all that, cares able the struggles of this little speck of dust that I am. He is humble enough to not only notice my chains but help me get out of them. Wow! Talk about compassion!

That being said, I want to improve. I want to seek Him more. I don't want to keep taking for granted how generous He has been to me. So, I prayed through those bullet points Priscilla provided. I really asked God to show me where I allow myself to be a slave.

Honestly, I was feeling pretty good about the answer. I don't have a busy schedule. Therefore, I don't have wrong motives for saying yes and I don't feel bad for saying no because I don't often have to say either. Bullet one and two were a breeze. When I got to the third bullet I felt some conviction. 

Idols. This one has been something I have been keeping in the front of my mind since last Friday. I realized, in the small group we attend, that I let TV be the number one idol in my life, followed by social media. Praise God, He has helped me be victorious when it come to watching TV- binge watching to be honest. It has been refreshing to play a sermon or message in the back ground of my day. Being a person that loves talk radio this is really working for me. Social media has been a little better but victory has not been claimed yet.

Okay so 1 out of 4 not bad, right? Wrong. God woke me up to the truth that I allow my comfort zone to be my source of pressure. I mentioned in my last post how much a love being introverted. I am quite content laying low. There in lies the problem. I am not allowing myself to be available to God. More specifically: sloth-a habitual disinclination to exertion. I am a terrible disciple of Christ. God convicted me that staying in my comfort zone is not faith. In reality I am letting myself be ruled by 3 out of 4 points.

I am so thankful that God is alive and active. If not that reality would not have been shown to me by 'Fervent' alone. God is eager to save! It's not fun to let Him show you the mirror of your imperfections but it is always a blessing.

So here it is. Out in the open. If obedience doesn't follow repentance it wasn't really repentance...that's where I'm at with this. It's time to break out...I'm not comfortable with this. I have to be deliberate about acting. I'm feeling tempted to brush it off. It's overwhelming to think about. Reality check: Satan wants my focus blurred, my identity misdirected and the pressure on. God will have victory in this area of my life, but I'm really in the way. You're prayers are warmly welcomed.