And you shall love the Lord your God with ALL your heart and with ALL your soul and with ALL your mind and with ALL your strength.
Mark 12:30 (ESV)
Closing out 2020 felt good. It became more and more difficult to find anything positive as the year progressed. Don’t get me wrong. Just like you I continued to do good as opportunities arose. But I also noticed that even with all the rich virtual Bible teaching available I was barely getting by spiritually. I was sluggish and dull.
To be truthful, though, the real problem was I was tired and suffering from a lack of focus—the kind of helpful spiritual focus which usually stirs me to action. Seasons where there is little to no movement—no clarification but just prolonged cavernous silence—while waiting on God for direction are the most difficult in life. Then came the thought, maybe it is time for a spiritual tune up!
One advantage to aging is acquiring a significant amount of wisdom. With acquired wisdom you may have noticed there are times you are purposefully sent out into the world to act and there are times you are purposefully drawn back—even dramatically—to home base for a spiritual tune up to refresh and replenish. God knew I needed to be called back to intentional resting and listening.
Loving God means loving concentrically outward from a love relationship with God the Father and Jesus at the center, to a love relationship with immediate family and friends, to a love relationship with brothers and sisters in Christ and finally to anyone else God brings to our attention. A spiritual tune up requires a generous amount of time to listen to necessary instruction and correction for the purpose of shedding human thoughts and busyness and instead waiting for God-implanted thoughts and direction.
A spiritual tune-up is an opportunity to consecrate myself to love God the way He wants to be loved. “Lord, to the best of my ability, I lay ALL my heart, soul, mind, and strength before You. Renew and transform me. Instruct me about what matters to You most in 2021. Stir me to action that will please You. Tell me what You require of me. Speak, for Your servant is listening!”