Do You Ever Feel As If Your Life
Is Going Down the Drain?
If you watch water go down a drain it can sometimes make a swiftly moving funnel. What was a full calm sink of water now becomes a rapid release of all. Once full, now empty. It can happen instantaneously or progressively. So it can be with the ebb and flow of life. Some changes and seasons arrive in an instant while others come in so gradually as to be hardly noticed. What seemed full is now empty.
Without a close walk with the Lord life changes can leave you frazzled and drained. Change can be disheartening in any event but with Him the burden is lighter and easier to bear. Jesus told us that there would be trials in life. Keeping your spirit filled with His Spirit ensures a much easier journey.
People
What are some things that can drain His best from your life? Relationships come to mind. There are some that seem flowery and pleasurable on the outside yet looking a little deeper there are holes that prevent any real solid or stable foundation. If the foundation is not solid the integrity of the connection will fail. Just like the water in the drain, it may fail quickly or over time. The failing of any relationship is difficult but the more time invested the greater the feeling of loss. Look at all your relationships. Be equally yoked. If you find yourself drained, walk away. Choose your relationships wisely! It is through relationship that you grow. You will either grow toward God’s best for you or away from it all together.
Places
Positioning yourself in a wrong environment can drain your spirit and greatly impede your walk with the Lord. This week, be aware of the places you frequent. Are they God’s best for you? Do they allow you to reflect Him? Would you be ok bringing Him with you? That is always a good question to clarify whether or not any person, place or thing is something you should be pursuing. If you would not be comfortable with Jesus in the room with you then walk away from it. He would not be comfortable with your involvement there either.
Things
Another spiritual drain can be any form of addictive behavior. The obvious addictions are alcohol, drugs and sex. If you struggle with any addictions get help now. There are many wonderful programs and counselors today to help you get set free. Addiction can drain your life of healthy relationships, gainful employment and the peace of mind that is yours through Jesus Christ. Seek help now.
An additional addiction that is especially rampant in church environments is gossip. If you gossip yourself, stop now. If you are in a group where gossip is taking place try to change the subject. If you cannot, walk away. I remember a woman at a church I attended years ago who when she encountered gossip would say, “I am not comfortable with this conversation.” Either the conversation changed or she walked away. It did not take long for others to know not to gossip in her presence. Hopefully, they learned not to gossip at all! Not only is gossip an abomination in God’s eyes but it also tarnishes or destroys the reputation of another. If people gossip to you they will gossip about you. Walk away!
Walk in Overflow!
So, looking back at our drain, some people, places and things look very colorful and pleasing on the outside. But if you look a little closer there are holes that will ultimately drain what is good and what is holy out of your life and out of your heart (remember, it is always a heart issue). Determine this week to check your potential life drains. Do not allow any person, place or thing to drain God’s life giving grace from you. Allow God to fill up your spirit so it can overflow to others!
It Is Never Too Late!
If you have not yet made the decision to accept Jesus into your heart, do it now. Do not wait another minute. Speak to Him from your heart (for it is always a heart issue). Tell Him you have fallen short in your life. Sincerely apologize for your sins, ask Him to cleanse you and come into your heart and into your life. From this moment forward let His Spirit guide you along the narrow road that leads to everlasting life.
Quotes to Ponder This Week
“…lo, I am with you always…” ~Jesus Matthew 28:20
“For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” ~Jesus, Luke 6:45
“These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” ~Jesus, John 16:33
“There are six things that the Lord hates, seven that are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that make haste to run to evil, a false witness who breathes out lies, and one who sows discord among brothers.” ~Proverbs 6:16-19
“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” ~Ephesians 4:29
A Prayer Request
Thank you for your continued faithfulness to pray. Please keep all who serve our country, our servicemen and women and their families in prayer for salvation and safety. They are our front-line on the battlefield, let us be their front-line in the spirit. Also, let us cover all who have come home wounded that they and their families will receive the kindness, help and support they need to go forward in their lives. God bless all our diplomatic and military personnel and their families. May the Lord keep them safe.
Pray for all throughout the world for hedges of protection against radical Islamic extremists and all forms of terrorism. Pray for Christians who face violence and death for their faith. We have long prayed for spiritual victory over radical Islam in Esther’s Warriors Ministry. We now see the reality of this threat come to the forefront in this time in world history. As Iranians and Islamic extremists are shouting ‘Death to America,’ let us speak life, hope and a return to God in America!
Please pray for all in authority over us, for the full truth to come forth concerning Benghazi. May God richly bless the United States of America, bring to light every single crooked place and keep her safe. The lives lost in Benghazi, the continuing targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, Operation Fast and Furious, the Department of Justice targeting journalists phone records, the National Security Agency overstepping its legal authority are hardly “phony scandals.” We continue to pray for truth to prevail in each of these situations. Pray for the families who have lost loved ones, for those relentlessly targeted and for all of us who are proud to call ourselves American.
Pray for the families and friends of those slain in Chattanooga, Tennessee by an Islamic terrorist.
May we may arise united once again as One Nation Under God in this auspicious season in our country’s history. These are treacherous times and now more than ever we must maintain our walk with the Lord, saturate this country in prayer and stand for all that is right in America. Fail not in this hour.
Pray for peace in Israel. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.
Please Join Me In Prayer
Father God, we thank You for the ultimate price that Jesus paid to set us free. Enable us to see each and every drain in our life that keeps us from the fullness of the destiny You have ordained for us. Equip us to walk away from any person, place or thing that is not Your very best or us.
Place deep in our heart the love of God and love of country that has guided our Nation from its inception. Place deep in our hearts Your compassion for our fellow men and women. Lead us to pray without ceasing for our brothers and sisters who suffer at the hands of Islamic terrorists. Open the eyes of our leaders to arise in this season to defend the very belief in You upon which our Nation is founded.
Thank You for keeping Your hand on America. We humbly pray this in Jesus’ mighty name. Amen and Amen.