Deal With It

"I passed by the field of the sluggard and by the vineyard of the man lacking sense, and behold it was completely overgrown with thistles; its surface was covered with nettles, and its stone wall was broken down. When I saw, I reflected upon it; I looked and received instruction. 'A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest,' then your poverty will come as a robber and your want like an armed man." --Proverbs 24:30-34 NASB

Statement of Truth: Despair does not come overnight. Despair comes as the result of a series of small choices to ignore the problem and deal with the crux of the issue.

I have never, EVER, been in close fellowship with the LORD one day and then find myself in a completely different spiritual state the next. It is ALWAYS a progression of several days of making tiny choices that impeded my time spent with Him. My best friend calls these "1 degree turns." 1 degree away from the origin is not that far, but as you venture further and further from that radius, the resulting distance could be miles upon miles. Sometimes these choices are made out of outright rebellion, but usually it is simply that I have been distracted from my mission, taken of course, and my eyes have been fixed on things other than the cross. The enemy is quite subtle in his tactics. "A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest."

Father, forgive me of my laziness. Knowing there was a problem and refusing to deal with it has only pushed me further from You. Please forgive me of my delayed obedience which is just a disguise for disobedience. Thank You for Your restoring power and for remaining faithful while I am faithless. Strengthen my desire for constant communication with You, and an intimate fellowship with You, for You truly are "intimately acquainted with all my ways" (Psalm 139:3b). Though my outer man is decaying, my inner man desires to be renewed day by day (2 Cor 4:16). Make this heart fresh again. Set it free indeed, enslaved to Your righteousness.

"[I] am not presenting [my] supplications before You on account of any merits of [my] own, but on account of Your great compassion. O LORD! O LORD, forgive! O LORD, listen and take action! For Your own sake, O my God, do not delay, because Your city and Your people are called by Your name." (Daniel 9:18b-19)