Theme: Being Flexible
For the past few days I have been learning that having a made up mind is of great importance. This lesson allowed me to be strengthened through gaining perspective on a very hectic day that I experienced yesterday. In fact, another theme resulted – Being Flexible.
In some ways, it lines up with having a made up mind. I am reminded to not lock myself into such a tight schedule or agenda, especially when it comes to spending quality time with God at a certain time each morning. My plan was to carve out a set time each morning for devotion and worship. As a mom with responsibilities, that time is not always available – life does really have bumps along the road. So, instead of giving up and not pursuing this path altogether, choosing flexibility allows me to do what needs to be done for my family, while still ensuring that I spend time with Abba before the day truly begins (or gets too far along).
Yahweh cannot be boxed in. He also is not so rigid that missing that set time with Him leaves Him feeling abandoned or neglected until that next set time comes around. What I continue to learn is that His desire is that I come to Him – always.
“There is far more at stake here than religion. If you had any idea what this Scripture meant—’I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’—you wouldn’t be nitpicking like this” (The Message, Matt 12:6-7)
Questions for ponder: What will happen if we always refuse to be flexible — to give up our own view of the situation, our own way of doing things, our own plans?
Imago Dei 
You have a good point here Dee. We have to be flexible and extend a bit of grace to ourselves on days when the usual routine is hard to keep. The underlining point is to seek him everyday.
Blessings to you sis 😊
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Yes, Manu. You have captured the essence of what is expected of us – seeking our Daddy daily. You’re right too, we need to extend grace to ourselves when our routines are interrupted. Our Daddy does – so why shouldn’t we.
Abba’s blessings to you always :)💜
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For me, being flexible means allowing room for God to work each day. So many surprises hide behind every corner—some good and some bad. But God already knows what’s going to happen. Have a blessed day, Dee.
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I hope you had a lovely day, David.
I love your answer and your heart posture – giving Him room to work each day. That is absolutely necessary for our survival, especially with the many surprises that will inevitable come our way 😉
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This has made me realize in my relationship with God I am not allowing for grace. When I miss my time alone with God I imagine He is miffed. There is a tract called My House God’s Home that gives this impression — God waiting in the study while I go rushing by.
I am thinking that in some cases this is true but most of the time it is not. When it’s my heart’s desire to be with God I actually grieve that I’ve missed my time with God. God also grieves but with grace He understands. I am going to think about this some more. I may write a blog post about it. Thank you for bringing this to my attention.❤
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Oh Lena Rae, bless the Lord.
Do you know, that we are much harder on ourselves that our Daddy is? He quickly forgives and offers us pardon. He lavishes us with grace and offers to us an abundance of mercy. Yet many times, we are the opposite. We keep records of our wrongs, remind ourselves far too often of our shortcomings and at times, fail to forgive ourselves for offenses we may have made eons ago. I think too, we view our heavenly Daddy in similar veins as our earthly daddy who at times gets impatient with us and for some of us, have left us abandoned in various ways.
I pray the Lord will continue to mold our hearts, my sister, to accept His grace in good measure.
PS: I think your grief at missing that time with Abba in good measure is lovely as it points to your longing for His presence.
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Saying thank you hardly seems enough but thank you for your grace-filled response. I have had many difficult years with my loved ones.
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It is sufficient. You are most welcome 🙂
I can only begin to imagine the difficulty, my friend.
Lena Rae, you are worthy, valuable, honored, cherished and absolutely loved by me 🙂
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Awe! Thanking Jesus for a friend like you, Dee. You are precious in His sight.❤
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Amen, Dee! Well said! I do not ever want to put God in a box!
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Me either, Mandy!
Besides, is there a box big enough to put Him 😉
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💯 Your submissions are apt, Dee. What God wants is a relationship with us. However, he is not like humans who may tend to be needy and attention seeking. Regardless of when we chose to have conversations with him, he is always ready to listen and talk to us. We just have to be intentional and consistent about it.
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AMEN!!!
Thank you for that confirmation, Ayansola. He wants our intentionality and our consistency. He wants us to always want Him – not just at specific times.
I also love your reminder that our Lord is not like man. He is so humble and patient that He willingly waits for our attention. Thank You for Your patience and love towards us, Christ Jesus!
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I affirm – God can not be boxed in. As much as we would desire to have a particular time in our day for our time out with Him. Which is good, we shouldn’t beat ourselves up, on it when we are not able to achieve it at that particular time. Instead, we should work on engaging with Him for that day. I learned this and its been helping me to live a balanced life. Thanks for sharing, big sis. ❤
And the answer to your question is that we would miss out on a lot while we are trying to go our own way rather than God’s or the way He desires for us. 😊
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Thank you for such a comprehensive and all-encompassing answer, Mercy.
I love that you mentioned working on engaging with the Lord for the entire day. That certainly takes the weight off of us big time. Besides, isn’t our Lord always available for us to meet with? Doesn’t He know our intentions and how we are oft faced with demands from those around? I know He does not expect us to be so pious and rigid that we neglect showing compassion to those He has entrusted to us 🙂
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Amen, when we study the Bible we must understand that God’s Word is not given to us so that it might restrain or contain God. On the contrary, the Word is given to restrain and contain us!
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Hallelujah! I love how you’ve phrased this, Jerome. We are the ones in need of boundaries, not our Lord.
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We will live in chaos. A time of prayer is continuous and our time for Him is as the Spirit leads. Well said Sweetie.
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Oh how sweet it is to have Holy Spirit as our leader, Nana. We could not function any other way. 🙂
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Amen. True, My Grand.
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This is a vital lesson. We must be flexible. If we are set on only one way of doing things we may miss out on something special God wants to do. It’s amazing how when we ask, God will help us arrange our schedule to accomplish things and spend time with Him. God’s been helping me, thanks for your prayers! ❤️
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Hi Deede
God requires the first fruit, first boy,
seek me first and all his riches will be yours.
When we get that part done, if we get in trouble he’s closer than you think and ready to help.
We need to be consistent, Yahweh cares for us. 🙏🙏
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I’m so thankful for your reminder today. Thank you for reading and leaving your heart print 🙏🏽
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