Don't Live For God

This past week I read something that stuck with me and has been penetrating my soul ever since. Actually, God started planting this seed of new revelation many weeks ago. How many times have we heard "live your life for God", "living for the Lord" or any other variation with the same meaning.  I'm just gonna throw this one out there...I don't want to live for God nor do I want my children to live for God.

Living for God.  What does that mean anyway?  What does a life look like if one is living for God?  It could look a lot of ways, from one who is serving in the mission field to one that serves weekly in a local church.  Before you get your feathers ruffled, allow me to continue, and I pray that my heart is understood.  These things are not bad and are certainly necessary for the kingdom of God to advance.  However, satan loves nothing more than for us to be so caught up in doing and "living for" that we never bow a knee and spend time in true relationship with God.  We can "live for God" all day long, but our prayers are where His power is unleashed in our life.  If we spend our time running around "living for God" in our own power, how much can we actually do for HIS kingdom.  On the other hand, if we live our lives WITH God our efforts will have exponentially more effect because chances are they will be orchestrated by Him and not us. We will accomplish so much more for Him if we are in the center of His plans than if we are running around doing what is good and asking Him to show up.

 I have, as I am sure many of you have, spent a great deal of time doing...until recently.  A few years ago, my time with God...alone and in prayer...became very precious to me.  Oh I was still "doing" continuously, but the time I spent in prayer had become priority in my life.  The past few months have been difficult for me because I feel that God has had me in a holding pattern with no clear path of what I need to "do".  There is nothing on a weekly basis that He is leading me to jump into...and I am a jump into type of person.  Give me a goal, especially for the Lord, and I am all about it.  Nothing.  Each day I was walking away from my prayer time empty handed as far as what direction I should take in service or how I should spend my time. More than once He revealed to me that He wanted my focus to be outside of the walls of the church...which is different for me.  I've been very active in the childrens ministry for years at the churches we've attended.  Now? No, I knew God was saying No. O.k., then Lord...where?  I HAVE to serve somewhere, don't I? (I've reflected on our clear call to Uganda this Christmas...this is HUGE, but there are several months before we actually get to "DO" that.)   So what do I do in the meantime?

Finally, through my prayer time, I began hearing him speak...clearly.  Family. During this season of my life, He wants my focus on my family.  They need my attention, my love, and my devotion...unlittered with the stresses of "doing" many other good things...and God has made this clear to me.   Would I have known this if I had been busy "living for God" as opposed to living WITH God, in prayer, seeking where He wanted me?  Probably not.  I shared how God was working in my heart with my husband, and he stopped me before I could finish.  He knew where I was going with my explanation because he had prayed a similar prayer and the answer he received...family.  Now, I cannot even explain to you how I LOVE when God speaks clearly...but when He speaks the same word over my husband and I both...I can't lift my hands high enough to praise him! Maybe this current directive is for my benefit, or perhaps one or all of them need me more than ever before.  Whatever the reasoning, I can rest assured in the fact that His timing in calling me to not "do" is perfect because He is capable of nothing less.  

We serve a God who created us for relationship with Him.  He wants to speak to us, and He desires for us to speak to Him. I want to live my life WITH Christ and not for Him, and I am teaching my children to do the same.  There is nothing that we can do FOR Christ that He cannot do for himself.  Teaching my kids to "live for" Christ is based on them and what they can do. While there will definitely be seasons of "doing", my desire is that they recognize God's voice.   I want them to grow up in a committed relationship WITH Christ, spending time everyday in prayer with Him and in turn unleashing His power in their own lives. I want them to know that their choice of service area is exactly where God is calling them because they are seeking Him daily and their ears are bent towards His voice.  I want them to see God at work, and hear His invitation to join Him instead of it being the other way around. I want them to live their lives WITH God and not for Him.