Ask The Holy Spirit To Help Yo

A Devotional by Margot Cioccio

Like a sailboat we need the wind of the Holy Spirit to move us.

Genesis 2:3
And God blessed the seventh day 

and made it holy, 

because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.

It is now Tuesday morning. I did pretty much rest all day yesterday. Even so I still went to bed early. I did a few things like I had to get milk and a few items at the grocery store, I made a simple dinner for my family. I read a book for a while, tried to follow the directions to make some earrings but could not concentrate well enough.  In the late evening I watched a show with my son. Mostly I rested.
I struggle with resting I always feel like there are things that I could be doing. Part of trust for me is realizing that it is ok to rest. Not only that God wants me and you to rest. I was reading somewhere yesterday that resting is an act of worship. It says to God that I trust Him to be able to take care of the things that concern me in the other 6 days of the week. Resting is a spiritual disciple that we actually need to practice. I can look at my day yesterday and I can see some thing that I could have done with just a little pre-planning that would have eliminated some of the things I did have to do. I believe however that the Lord saw my heart was to obey him even if I did not do it perfectly.

It took me time and practice to make my early morning quiet time a regular part of my daily life. It took me time to get the hang of writing and blogging daily. God does give us wonderful spiritual gifts but we also must use them to become proficient at using them. I think of them more like spiritual tools. If you give me a router or a band saw as a gift, I still need to practice cutting and shaping wood. My first attempts at something new,  like the earrings I attempted yesterday, are always a bit clumsy.
I will try them again when I am less tired. I realized there were some supplies and other elements that I needed to still get, and I will work on acquiring those things this week.  So you may feel a bit awkward and clumsy about taking a actual day of rest. It may feel a bit uncomfortable and there will likely be things that you will discover that you could improve upon. I think God is pleased when we give him more than mere lip service regarding the things he says we should do in his word.

Maybe resting is not a struggle for you, perhaps it is being part of a community of believers. That one takes practice too. Its hard to be a living stone in a spiritual house if you hardly attend any services or activities at a church. Sometimes it takes some practice to organize your priorities to make time for healthy spiritual disciplines and practices in your life. Ask the Holy Spirit to help you.

For weeks I have been feeling like the Lord has been saying to me, "Slow Down!" He has sent me that message in dreams, and in things I have read, in His word and at least one friend has voiced their concern. So I am going to try to do that this week and my first step of faith towards trying to slow down was to actually heed the word and take a day of rest. I'm not sure exactly how it will play out during the rest of the week but I am going to try to be intentional about not taking on a bunch of extra stuff this week. I realize that I will need the Lord's help. I've heard Him repeatedly telling me to slow down and I have been trying but failing pretty miserably at it. So I am telling the Lord that I hear Him and I want to obey but I will need His help to see where and how. I will need his help when I am feeling clumsy and outside of my normal comfort zone.

Prayer:
Dear Lord,
There are things that you have been speaking to each of us. You have been patently waiting for us to realize that we need your help. Thank you that your word says that when we are weak you are strong.
Go before us and help us to see little changes that we could make today, and little changes tomorrow and the next day. Help us not to get discouraged because we feel awkward or uncomfortable outside of our comfort zone as we take little steps of faith to trust and be doers of your word.