We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God.Colossians 1:9-10
As I was driving home today from the office—late 7 p.m. on a Friday.I was thinking about the couple I had just counseled.I was thinking about many things, particularly how my life has changed dramatically over the years.How I once sought out help for my life and my marriage.How at the time, I couldn’t see straight, think straight—I just couldn’t get my head around simple concepts.Not that they were so simple, but I deep down inside was stuck living on the outside never dealing with my inside—where all the work of Jesus begins—inside.
So here I am sharing that concept with this lovable couple wondering if they understood?Wondering if I really helped at all.Helping people is not a quick fix, it takes time to get past the layers, it takes time to admit that doing the outside stuff the way people have done it so long—needs to change.
When did it change for me?Actually, it has been changing.It really began changing years ago when I started working on my sobriety.That’s right, I had to work on something that was killing me on the outside—but the addiction is from the inside.But most Christians never get that.They have learned how to mask the outside by doing, and doing and doing.When they finally find that it is futile, change can take place.
A great read for me over the years has been Lead Like Jesus by Ken Blanchard.Leading like Jesus is all about becoming like him in every aspect.Living like Jesus is letting Him rule me on the inside, which then leads to living on the outside like Him.Yes, being “filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God” is all done on the inside out.
My prayer for my friends today is that they give up trying to manage the outside and learn to live from the inside where Christ lives.
Lord, fill me with the knowledge of Your will so that I may live and lead like Jesus to the only end that You will be pleased with me. In Jesus' Name, Amen!
