Well, for someone who claims to enjoy political discussion, I totally dropped the ball this election season and didn’t even blog once regarding politics of any kind! This isn’t because I was uninterested, because I was watching, listening, learning, and reading avidly. But I was reluctant to blog because my faith in the reliability of any of the media or the sincerity of any of our government leaders has been shaken. When I went to the poll to vote, I felt like I had no voice because either way I would lose. Ah, see. I said “either way” as if I only had two choices on the ballot. I had more, of course, but if you don’t vote Republican or Democrat, you don’t get heard.
Well, I cannot even begin to go into all the things I have been studying in regard to our nation’s path, so I won’t. There is just too much. So, I will tell you what the result has been in my life.
First of all, I had a time of conviction from the Holy Spirit recently. Can I just say that those times do not come often enough for me? Not because I don’t need convicting, but because I am rarely still enough before the Lord to hear His Spirit speak to me. But, oh, how sweet it is when He whispers so tenderly that I have been chasing after everything but Him, and that He wants me back. So gently, He guides me to first see my sin, then repent of it. Then He reminds me of His mighty work, and I again find that faith and zeal burn strong; I am renewed for the fight.
So, I am eager to fan the flames of passion that God stoked in me. I am praying, not once, not half-heartedly, but persistently and fervently for revival. Revival in me, revival for my husband, revival for the men in my extended family who are the spiritual head of their homes, and revival in the Body of Believers. God will bring revival if we humble ourselves and pray. If we turn our faces to Him and seek Him with all our hearts, will He not draw near? And, if He is near, we cannot be unchanged.
Secondly, I am looking with new eyes at the values and priorities I have established for myself and for the training of my children. Nothing major has changed here, but I am trying to re-evaluate things a little at a time to make sure that I am not exchanging the eternal for the temporal. This process is slow and painstaking because I have let too much of a worldly attitude seep into me, and I cannot always distinguish the subtle lies of Satan like I should. But, little by little, with the power of the Spirit, I pray that I will become more aware of my priorities and be empowered to change them.
Thirdly, as a tool of introspection, I am trying to write more regularly, whether in journal, blog, or email form. I am finding already, that this is a rewarding discipline (I use that term loosely). When I write, it helps me slow down and consider all the things that buzz around in my head. I am hoping that writing will bring clarity as well as consistency, though in truth, neither has been a strength of mine.
So, the election buzz had a rather unexpected, though not unwelcome, impact on me. I am looking forward eagerly, and I pray to see God’s hand in whatever lies ahead.
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