Commitment...

I don't know about you but sometimes I feel like I am lacking commitment in many areas of my life. I have grand ambitions and dreams and I know that God is going to take me higher than I have ever been before but sometimes I just get tired of pushing myself and pressing forward. My commitment lacks passion becuase I have pushed myself so hard for such extended periods of time that I just want to stop and relax. What do people do when they are lacking commitment and drive to keep pushing onward towards their goals? What is it that makes a man relentless and tireless when their body is telling them to quit or to take a break? I can only tell you from my own experience what causes me to slow down and what makes me have a spirit of lazyness. I feel most run down when I stop doing what I know I need to do which is staying in the Word of God. When I stop having my quiet time and stop reading God's word on a daily basis is when I feel most tired and also when I am tempted the most in every aspect of my life. Getting God's word on the inside of you inspires you to keep pushing forward and it gives you the spark of passion that you need to keep up your commitments whether they be to someone else or to yourself. Just from my own personal experience I can tell you that if you stop feeding on the Word of God and ingesting the truth and passion that comes from the pages of the bible you will Lack commitment to whatever you are trying to accomplish becuase it is God who sustains us and gives us the Power, Determination and Discipline needed to keep pressing on when we feel like we can't take another step. The days that I don't feel very powerful are the days or weeks that I have been depriving myself of the Word of God. Lately I have been so tired in the mornings that I can't make myself get out of bed for anything and I have been sleeping as late as I possibly can to get every last minute of sleep before I have to get up and get ready for work. I used to get up at 5AM every day and spend an hour and a half reading my bible and other Christian books; filling myself with the Word of God and preparing myself for the day that is ahead of me. It was something that motivated me and gave me passion to work as hard as I could and truly be a blessing to someone that day. I have also committed myself to working out 4 times a week and getting up 2 days a week and working out before I go to work and I just haven't been able to motivate myself to do that either for various reasons. As I look back over the last 2 weeks I can see that my level of committment has gone down and I can directly corelate it to my daily walk with God. My favorite bible verse that establishes this principal is Isaiah 40:31 which says, "But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint." This verse is the principal and promise on which we should govern our lives and our daily activities. I only wish that I would have remembered this over the past 2 weeks and many times before that because I have lost sight of what my committments are and where I draw my strength from. I need to trust in the Lord and he will renew my strength. He will give me Power and Discipline to push forward when I feel like sleeping in and strength when I feel like I can't go any farther. To soar on wings like eagles is a magical picture of the true power of God and the power of resting in Him and relying on Him to renew our strength and committment when we feel like giving up. Eagles can soar at amazing heights, up to 10,000 feet in the air and because of their enormous wing span they can ride the wind without having to use any energy which greatly increases their territory they can cover to hunt. Eagles are at the top of the food chain and one of the most beautiful and elegant birds on this earth, yet they are also one of the most powerful and agressive birds as well. To soar on wings like eagles gives us the power to save our energy for the real fight that we are going through, we get to conserve our energy and rest in God's mighty power that He gives us to sustain us when we feel weak. It's an amazing picture of the awesome power of God and the necessity to be connected to His power through the daily reading of His Word.
Committment is something that is hard for us naturally. It's easy to say you are going to do something in the heat of the moment and for awhile you stick to it because it's something that you are determined to do. But after awhile the emotion of that moments wears off and you have to re-evaluate the choice you made and decide again in your mind that you are going to reapply yourself to do whatever it takes to achieve your goal that you set in the past. Everyone gets tired and everyone lacks in committment and discipline every once and awhile, it's just part of life. The real test is to see if you can stick it out and achieve the goals that you set for yourself in the face of adversity and if you can muster up the discipline and strength to do the hard things when you don't feel like doing it anymore. Discipline is the WORD of the new year for me. I am going to explore every meaning of the word discipline and figure out what it means to me and I'm going to take that meaning to a new level. I have to be disciplined in every area of my life because that's what God has called me to be. I want to strive for Excellence in every area of my life because it's my destiny. It's part of the Glory of God that Jesus has given me through His death on the cross and resurection from the grave. So if you are lacking committment and discipline like I am I invite you to take the challenge with me. Figure out what discipline and committment mean to you and what you need to apply yourself more to this new year. Once you figure out what you need to do find the passion within yourself to see it through to the end and rely on God to give you the strength needed to make it happen. Like my pastor always says; it's our job to BELIEVE, it's God's job to do the IMPOSSIBLE!!! I have learned that it's not by my strength that I am able to achieve my goals but my strength comes from staying in the Word of God. When I spend time with God daily in prayer and in the bible I find the strength to stay on course and I am in a position to win. I am committing myself today and from this day forward to spend time daily in the Word of God; I hope you will join me in this challenge, it will change your life. God's blessings for you today and have a Merry Christmas!!! Take time to read the Christmas Story in Luke with your family. I'm going to do that tonight and it's going to become a tradition in the Hayes household to make sure to remember the Reason for the Season of Christmas which is the birth of Jesus our savior. I love you JESUS!!!!