“I must decrease, He must increase,” John 3:30 ESV. These words from John the Baptist combined with the words of King David: “I will run the course of Your commandments, For You shall enlarge my heart,” Psalm 119:32, lead to an understanding of a powerful spiritual principle: Every new day requires both constraint and release, contraction and expansion. As a jellyfish moves through the water by expanding and contracting, so we move through life. This process is disconcerting to the uninformed, but to the spiritually awakened this routine becomes a welcomed process since it is a sign of forward progress. Unwillingness to accept necessary shrinkage or fear of expansion leaves us to simply drift along with the surrounding current, eventually casting us onto the dry shore. Lord, I love Your ways and praise You that You do not leave me trapped in stagnation. Open, close, I’m good with that. To what must I close today and to what must I open? LORD, You say.
A serious pursuit of godliness requires an equally serious renunciation of worldliness. Too often, we measure spirituality with false scales. While being wisely selective with our public vices we are less so with our private attitudes and perspectives. In reality, it is the thoughts and intents of the heart where the greatest battles must be waged; our actions will ultimately align with the condition of our hearts. Lord God, You know me inside out, You are not fooled by human facades. Plow my heart with Your Word and Spirit and leave nothing unturned. Refresh my inward man that I may outwardly glorify You in all places at all times.
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