Thursday, December 26, 2013

By: Rachelle Hitt Bilbo

 

Going Through the Motions

 

Romans 12:11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve The Lord.

 

Disappointingly, for Christmas and Christmas Eve this year, I was ill with a terrible cold. Like every year, there were wonderful moments that tugged on my heart and that brought great joy to my life...specifically, watching my three-year-old open his presents.

 

We started with prayer and asked him to lead us. He prayed for help for the baby Jesus - lol. It was sweet...innocent and perfect in my opinion. My husband followed with another prayer of thanksgiving for what the Lord has done for us all.

 

Sadly though, I felt like I was just "going through the motions" this Christmas...fulfilling family tradition. At moments, I felt as if I was in a dream or looking from the outside in. Once I returned home and crawled in my bed, I wondered --- where did Christmas go???

 

Hear me out... I am grateful for the opportunity to have been with family and that my worst trial on Christmas Day was a cold. That was nothing compared to what many others are facing. In fact, we spent Christmas Eve in the hospital with a friend and church member suffering from severe injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident. I am sure he would prefer just having a cold. However, the physical feeling of exhaustion and of being disconnected that I experienced during the holidays made me wonder how many people feel this way emotionally and spiritually.

 

Have you ever felt that you were going through the motions of life...that you were physically there but really SO far away?

 

Today's verse encourages us to be fervent in Spirit and not slothful in zeal. The word slothful means "inactive."  Apathy will always find its way into our lives when we are inactive in our faith. Revelations 3:16 reveals that it is better to be hot or cold in our faith than lukewarm... It actually says that He will spew the lukewarm out of His mouth.

 

If you are feeling as if you are spiritually or emotionally "going through the motions," I challenge you today to begin identifying areas in your relationship with The Lord that may have grown stagnant and WORK on those areas. Likewise, if there are other areas in your life causing you to feel this way... possibly your job or your relationships with others...reflect on the reasons why. Just as a plant is either growing or dying, we are the same way spiritually. We have to water and exercise our faith and our relationship with God to grow strong.

 

Dear Lord, Help me to always serve You fervently. Recharge my faith. Show me areas I can improve in how I serve You.

 

I thank You, my Jesus, for dying for me. I believe that You are Lord and that God raised You from the grave so that I can have eternal life.