Another Legalistic Mental-Block Crumbles

Early one morning, as in most mornings, I purposely awoke early enough to prepare mentally to prepare for the day, I wrestled with a choice.  I had just thirty-five minutes or so to "kill" before I had to actually start getting ready to head out the door for work.


    The first five minutes or so of that time was wasted "wrestling" in my mind with a choice between prayer, reading my Bible, reading one of several books I have started reading, or working on the novel that I have begun to write.


    Normally, I would go through this process of "wrestling" then have a compulsory bent toward my Bible and start each day there.  It was not something I did out of my genuine "hunger and thirst" for God but rather it was usually something I did because I felt it was "required" of God.  If I would read a verse or two, possibly not even giving it all that much thought, then I could conscience doing the other things I wanted to or that I felt God wanted me to do.


    It occurred to me that the very act of wrestling with the decision had become a form of prayer.  I was weighing my options, considering the time (or in this case the lack of time), and "talking" with the LORD about what He would like me to do.  The verse that says, "therefore whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do ALL to the Glory of God" kept coming to mind.  It also occurred to me that the novel I was writing was something I believed strongly that He wanted me to write.


    So that morning I chose to work on the novel.  Since I have started the novel "project", I have had wonderful times with the LORD brooding over the pages, meditating on scripture, and thinking about how He would have me communicate what was on my mind, changing, editing, and adding text.


    The liberty that God had given me to choose what I wanted to do had turned into a beautiful time of worship, praise, and creativity.  At times tears of joy almost whelmed up within me. 


Now, I more strongly than ever do not want to do anything out of a "have to" mentality,  I now have the confidence that I as a believer have the liberty to do whatever I want to do as long as I do it "as unto the Lord" and am comfortable "knowing He is aware of the decision". (See the Post entitled - Garden Variety Choices) -- Although I have known that "where the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty" I have not always "felt" that I had this kind of freedom.


    As it turned out, mostly everything I did that particular day, did not seem like a chore, rather it all became a powerful time to commune with the LORD; to love Him with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength.  This is abundant living, as He is exalted in my thinking; I am "mounting up on wings as an eagle".  This is how I want to live every moment...


"He must increase, WE must decrease!"... 

                                            

And by the way, I did have time later that morning for time in the Word; it too was a wonderful time of fellowship with my God.