Time for another Sunday Scripture lesson from Fix Your Focus!
This week's lesson was actually done by me the week of December 29. Here goes ...
🌿 WEEK-AT-A-GLANCE CHECKLIST is further on in each week's section. But since I am working on Fix Your Focus all week long, I find it works best for me to do this checklist first. This checklist offers us four points:
* To make a plan for reading our Bibles and praying.
* To add any upcoming events to our calendars.
* To jot down a to-do list of tasks that must be completed this week.
* To make a note of our top three priorities for this week.
This last point is one that I need to pay special attention to every week. I've been finding it so helpful. (The other three points are things that I'm consistently doing.)
For this week, my top three priorities are:
1) Health and homemaking -- maintain health goals; get back to walking and exercise. Accomplish some neglected homemaking tasks.
2) Etsy -- prepare and send orders; prepare some new listings, especially vintage date books.
3) Ministry -- phone calls and emails, blogging, Sunday School lesson preparation.
[If you are following along with our study, this is the place to make a Week-at-a-Glance checklist and/or priority list for yourself!]
🌿 The first actual prompt for each week is JOURNAL. We are encouraged to take a few minutes to our fears, joys, worries, desires and stressors concerning the week ahead. [If you are following along with us, take a moment in a journal or notebook to do just that.]. Here's what I wrote on Monday, breaking it down into the suggested categories:
Fears: No real fears going into this week.
Joys: I find blogging to be a joy. It's also a joy to connect with friends. I find joy in both walking and homemaking.
Worries: No real worries going into this week. A few concerns, but they seem to be resolving.
Desires: To improve my health and meet my health goals daily. To glorify God in all things. To make real progress with decluttering and downsizing.
Stressors: As always, the limitations of time, energy, and aging. A few stressful circumstances of life.
🌿 The next prompt is PRAYER. It was suggested that we use several prayer prompts to have a conversation with God about the week ahead. [You can do the same. Use the very same prompts for your own prayer.]
* Lord, You are ...
aware of all that this week will hold and You are sovereign over every minute of it. You are aware of all that I hope to do in this week, and I do believe that these activities line up with Your purposes for my life. You are able to help me accomplish all that You would have me to.
* Lord, I feel ... tired this week and a bit overwhelmed. Yet I also do feel optimistic, hopeful, and energized for a new year. I feel somewhat emotional this week -- a deep-down sadness that I know is very real and also understandable. Yet I know that You can give me "joy in the place of sorrow, peace in the midst of pain" regardless of what I'm feeling.
* Lord, help me with ... prioritizing and wise use of time this week, and going into the new year. Help me to accomplish all that You would have me to this year, and this week.
* Lord, forgive me for ... times
when I fail to use my time wisely. Times when I fall into depression or self-pity and seek comfort from earthly things that will never provide lasting comfort. Times when I am easily frustrated with my hubby's hearing issues. Times when I don't stop and think before speaking.
* Make a note of 4 or 5 people you are specifically praying for. I listed friends dealing with a cancer diagnosis; a granddaughter starting her own business; a friend afflicted with shingles.
🌿 The next section in this helpful guide is SCRIPTURE MEDITATION. I chose to first meditate on this week's Scripture, Proverbs 3:5-6, using the SOAP method, and then answered several suggested questions. [You can use your own preferred method to meditate on this verse, and answer the questions below for yourself.]
S= "Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." (Proverbs 3:5-6)
O= ESV reads: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make straight your paths."
Three directives; one promise.
🌿 Trust in the LORD with all your heart
🌿 Do not lean on your own understanding
🌿 Acknowledge God in all your ways
--- AND ---
🌟 He will direct your path.
Cross-reference for "trust in the LORD" -- "Trust in the LORD, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land; and verily though shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the LORD; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass." (Psalm 37:3:5)
Cross-reference for "lean not unto thine own understanding" -- "LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.." (Jeremiah 9:23)
I learned many years ago the important principle that our own understanding of a situation is often flawed.
Cross-reference for "In all thy ways" -- "And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve Him with a willing mind; for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the the thoughts. If thou seek Him, He will be found by thee; but if thou forsake Him, He will cast thee off forever." (1 Chronicles 28:9)
A= To help with my application of this verse, I answered the three questions from Fix your Focus:
* Reflect on what this verse tells you about who God is.
He is completely, fully trustworthy. He is sovereign and must be acknowledged as such. He knows all things and is able to direct the path of each individual.
* Think about what this verse tells you about who you are.
I'm a finite, limited human. My intellect, perspective, and sense of direction are all flawed and distorted. I'm a person in need of God's direction.
* Throughout the week, consider how this verse should affect the way you live.
I should live life with a wholehearted, unwavering trust in God. I should not lean on my own understanding of life, as that will always be flawed to some extent. I should acknowledge God is all my ways and become sensitive to His leading and direction.
One writer pointed out: "Verses five and six are the best known and most memorized verses of Proverbs. In fact, they are the life verses of many believers. These two cherished verses describe a life of total dependence and commitment to God. This is what our Heavenly Father wants of us, His dear children -- all who truly follow Him. He longs for us to be completely dependent upon Him and to have utter confidence in Him. This is what it means to trust. The object of the wise person’s trust is the LORD (Jehovah): the covenant-keeping God, the God who cannot lie."
Warren Wiersbe explains, "The word translated “trust” in verse 5 means “to lie helpless, facedown.” It pictures a servant waiting for the master’s command in readiness to obey, or a defeated soldier yielding himself to the conquering general.”
Another writer commented that trust is an all or nothing proposal: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart.” This writer noted that "partial trust is not trust at all. Either God is trustworthy, or He is not. If He cannot be trusted with all, He cannot be trusted at all."
As we think about not leaning on our own understanding, it's so helpful, as I said earlier, to realize that our own understanding of any situation is very often flawed. Richard DeHaan, in Our Daily Bread, gave an illustration of watching from a 25th floor hotel room as traffic snarled up on a highway below. From his vantage point he could see the problem, yet of course the cars on the road could not. Many mistakenly switched into the lane where the stalled car was, thinking to save time, but of course this tactic actually delayed them. DeHaan wrote,
"As we travel along life’s road, we do much the same as those misguided drivers. With our limited foresight we select the route that seems best—only to find that the temporary advance has led us into a course filled with delay and heartache. But how reassuring that we can look to One who is above everything, who knows the end from the beginning! This is why the writer of Proverbs could say, 'In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths'. When the Lord indicates a 'stop' or a 'change of lanes' or a 'wait,' we should gladly obey."
P= "Lord,
I'm so thankful for this Scripture passage. It is so encouraging to know that if these conditions are true of me -- wholehearted trust, acknowledging You as Lord, refusing to rely on my own limited understanding -- that you promise to direct my paths.
"Help me each day to trust You completely, relying on Your wisdom and not my own, and to acknowledge You in all my ways. I praise You for the clear instruction in Your Word, and for the guidance and direction You'll give as I look to You. I pray in Jesus' name, Amen."
🌿 GRATITUDE is the next prompt. We were to reflect on the way God has shown His faithfulness to you over the past week and list five things we are thankful for. [If you are following along with us, be sure to make your own list of five things!]. Here is my list:
1) A truly wonderful Thanksgiving with friends and loved ones.
2) Energy and time to accomplish all that was needed in that busy week.
3) An amazing response to our Christmas on the Common cookie decorating activity.
4) A good crew from the church to help with this outreach.
5) Wisdom and ideas for December posts in both blogs.
🌿 SPIRITUAL GROWTH is the next prompt, and this week there's an emphasis on SERVING. We were to think about those we know who might be in need, and also to consider what resources we have available -- time, resources, prayer, etc. We were to think about how we could serve those in need this week. [And again, if you are following along, please think about this for yourself.]
Our
plan for serving this week includes prayer and giving. We have many in our lives battling illness and disease, and will be praying for them throughout each day. We also plan to share Scripture verses and donate to a basket of encouragement for friends coping with cancer treatment.
🌿 Lastly is a GOSPEL-CENTERED AFFIRMATION:
I entrust my whole life to the LORD.
What a challenge this thought is! And yet as we recall it is the all-powerful, all-wise God in whom we trust, we realize the wisdom and benefit of such a commitment.
And there's the Sunday Scripture for this week!