[Quiet] activities than can help

As you ask God to enable you to learn “death to self,” you might consider how using disciplines of service, silence, prayer, and meditation may help. Serving those who never thank us and doing it for the love of Jesus can retrain us against our desire to be noticed or appreciated. Mini-disciplines of silence retrain us, especially ones such as not giving advice unless asked. 

This thwarts my idea that as a support group leader and platform speaker I know important insights that must be shared! When I don’t speak up, however, I end up praying for people instead. 

And finally, meditating on passages such as Psalm 23 prepares us to be almost at peace as we practice these other disciplines. 

TODAY’S EXPERIMENT - Quiet yourself and then ponder your way through Psalm 23:4-6, perhaps in a way similar to this: Because I’m beginning to believe the Lord is my Shepherd, I’m not quite as uneasy facing shadowy places in life. At times, I actually have no fear of anything. I see God’s hand guiding and comforting me through each detail. In those dramatic moments when I face those who oppose me, dislike me, or just plain annoy me, I find God behind me, pouring love into me, giving me just what I need. Actually, what I need overflows! Now and then I even offer some of that overflow to my enemy see. Each day I find goodness and love occurring in the oddest places. Could that be because I no longer demand and expect it from others? I am content to hang out with Jesus all day long. Whatever he’s up to, I want to tag along. --Dallas Willard

 





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