My 5 year old son, Kedar, is going through a phase where he has to be coerced into keeping up his personal hygiene. At this phase in his life, nothing seems to interest him quite like playing with his little matchbox cars with Dad, his little brother Kaleb and even his two sisters... that is, when he can convince them that testosterone-filled games like "Going to the Gas Station" are fun.
Well, last night, before bed I called out to the kids, "OK guys, time to brush."
All of them, like dutiful little soldiers said, "OK Mom," and stampeded into the bathroom to carry out their nightly routine. Well... all but Kedar. He got the bright idea to march into my bedroom with an inquisitive look on his face.
"Why do I have to brush Mom?" he asked.
"Well," I responded as thoughtfully as I could, "you need to keep your teeth clean honey." That was the best answer I could think of.
Wasn't good enough I guess.
Still not satisfied with my response, Kedar proceeded to explain something to me. "I looked at my teeth in the mirror," he said in his classic whiny voice, "and it doesn't look like there's anything on them, so why do I need to brush?"
I burst out laughing, though he didn't quite get why I was so amused. "Just go brush Kedar," I said shaking my head. At that very moment, I knew exactly what I would be blogging about.
Although he was sincere in his approach, he was still sincerely wrong and misguided--something that God doesn't want us to be. Yet, if we're honest, each of us can recall when we, at one time or another in our lives, operated from a similar paradigm. We assumed that, just because everything appeared to be OK, we could relax in certain areas.
Perhaps, our prayer time slipped a little bit; we didn't study our word as often as we should have; we stopped nurturing that relationship the way we should have; we weren't good stewards over our finances; or we failed to take care of ourselves physically. As a result, we ended up in a crisis or a desperate situation, when it could have been avoided with consistent maintenance.
When I was less mature, I used to ascribe to the philosophy which said, "If nothing appears to be out of order, maintenance isn't necessary." So, I wouldn't spring into action until things went haywire. For a long time, I didn't understand that my failure to be proactive landed me in a series of chaotic, troublesome circumstances that could have been easily avoided.
But maintenance is necessary.
Over time, thankfully, I began listening to the Holy Spirit and allowing Him to connect the dots for me. He began showing me how my own actions--or lack thereof--contributed to that unwanted set of circumstances. It was like a chain reaction; one thing led to another.
Think about it. Lack of maintenance is the culprit in many areas of our lives: Vehicles break down for lack of servicing; relationships fall apart for failure to nurture them; laundry, dishes and chores pile up because of neglect; our spirit man gets weak due to malnourishment stemming from lack of prayer and application of God's word; our physical bodies fail us when we don't take care of them.
And it grieves God to see His people struggling unnecessarily. He desires for us to live a fruitful, productive, joy-filled life--one that brings Him glory. But in order to do that, it requires diligence and consistency.
Prayer can't be a last resort. It must be a fixture in our lives. Even when everything seems to be going well, we need to be seeking God, fortifying our spirit and chasing hard after the one who is the anchor of our soul.
Today, let's all strive to be more diligent, proactive and consistent. Pray for guidance in everyday decisions, as well as the discipline, drive and desire to do what's right and needful, in both good times and bad.
*NOTE: By the way, I've not forgotten about Thoughtful Thursdays. Although, I have received some personal emails via Facebook and other contacts regarding difficult situations, I have not had any formal prayer requests sent to the designated email. If you have a prayer request that you would like to share with the Daily Cup readers, please send it to dailycup@eewmagazine.com and I'll be sure to make a note of that on the blog. God Bless!
As always, thanks for reading, and until next time... may you be empowered to prosper!
Dianna Hobbs
