Get the appLike: A Journey Through Psalm 23Sample
"In our culture, we are addicted to tasks, work, and doing; we say yes to too many things and if we are not busy we feel guilty of wasting time and productivity." -Peter Scazzero, Emotionally Healthy Church
More often then not, we miss many opportunities for the Lord’s restoration of our souls because we are so preoccupied with ourselves and our addictions that we are unable to be fully present with God. Most of the time the perfect opportunity to begin the process of allowing the Lord to restore our souls is right in front of us- and while God may choose to restore us in a moment, it's often over time as we make habit of seeking Him.
We have to be intentional about creating time and space to spend in God’s presence. The time you spend with Him might seem insignificant, but nothing could be further from the truth. The more we spend time with the Lord, in His Word, the more we discover His character and His love for us. Our minds start to become renewed and we start grow spiritually.
Over time, the truth that we receive in these moments begins to replace the lies and false assumptions we have about God, ourselves and others. God’s word becomes the foundation of our thinking. And once our thoughts change, our beliefs change and then our actions.
When the foundation of our thinking becomes God’s truth and His love, we begin to surrender our plans for His plans. We no longer see our circumstances from our lens, but through God’s lens. We begin to follow as He leads us and trust His voice even when it seems contrary to what we can see, feel or figure out ourselves.
In the beginning, it might be hard to discern His leading, but over time as we continue the process of the renewing our minds we are able to discern His voice because our thoughts begin to align with His thoughts. When our mind, body, will and emotions are in alignment with His truth, then our identity is found in Him. When this happens, we stop looking at people and circumstances to fill us. We become stable and secure in his love. Our lives become a reflection of His image to other people, and we begin to live life through Him for His name’s sake.
More often then not, we miss many opportunities for the Lord’s restoration of our souls because we are so preoccupied with ourselves and our addictions that we are unable to be fully present with God. Most of the time the perfect opportunity to begin the process of allowing the Lord to restore our souls is right in front of us- and while God may choose to restore us in a moment, it's often over time as we make habit of seeking Him.
We have to be intentional about creating time and space to spend in God’s presence. The time you spend with Him might seem insignificant, but nothing could be further from the truth. The more we spend time with the Lord, in His Word, the more we discover His character and His love for us. Our minds start to become renewed and we start grow spiritually.
Over time, the truth that we receive in these moments begins to replace the lies and false assumptions we have about God, ourselves and others. God’s word becomes the foundation of our thinking. And once our thoughts change, our beliefs change and then our actions.
When the foundation of our thinking becomes God’s truth and His love, we begin to surrender our plans for His plans. We no longer see our circumstances from our lens, but through God’s lens. We begin to follow as He leads us and trust His voice even when it seems contrary to what we can see, feel or figure out ourselves.
In the beginning, it might be hard to discern His leading, but over time as we continue the process of the renewing our minds we are able to discern His voice because our thoughts begin to align with His thoughts. When our mind, body, will and emotions are in alignment with His truth, then our identity is found in Him. When this happens, we stop looking at people and circumstances to fill us. We become stable and secure in his love. Our lives become a reflection of His image to other people, and we begin to live life through Him for His name’s sake.
Scripture
About this Plan
We live in a world that's fascinated with celebrities. Magazines and the paparazzi have built an entire industry around helping us answer the question, "What is he or she like?” In this devotional from Athens Church, we’ll ask that question about a particular "celebrity" and ask, "What is God like?”, and we’ll focus on one of the most famous Bible passages, Psalm 23, to help us answer it. In doing so, we'll discover that when it comes to God, there is a lot to like!
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We would like to thank Athens Church for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: http://athenschurch.com
