Things I don’t See in Me

Read: Ezra 7 “This Ezra went up from Babylon. He was a skilled scribe in the five books of Moses, which the Lord, the God of Israel, had given. And the king granted him all he asked, for the hand of the Lord his God was upon him.” Ezra 7:6 Examine: Ezra had a heart for God. He devoted his life to learning God’s ways, applying them to his own life, and sharing that knowledge with others. Because of his devotion, God’s favor was upon him. Ezra worked at developing his skills, but his skills were not the key to his success. The favor of God caused the favor of a king to be poured out on him. Apply: Pursuing God’s heart will always be manifested in a hunger to learn His word, the discipline of applying it to my life, and the desire to share my experience of Him with others. The intensity of God’s favor poured out on my life is a multiple of the intensity with which I pursue His heart. Pray: I have been thinking on this for a while and the thing that I see in my own life is a pattern of failing to operate in these three things simultaneously. In different seasons I seem to desire these things individually, but I recognize that I do not see these three things working in concert with each other. You teach me in Your word that all that is required of me is to lay down my life and follow after You. I take the fruit that my life is currently producing and lay it aside as not being worthy of Your presence inside of me. The voice I hear inside of me this morning is not giving me specific steps to take. Your still small whisper is just asking me to acknowledge that all is not right. I freely admit that. Holy Spirit I submit to Your leadership. Create inside of me an intense hunger for learning the ways of God’s heart. Help me to find an unrelenting drive to see God’s ways overtake my own. Break my heart for the absence of You in the lives of others.