Did you ask the questions? Were you too busy; perhaps going too fast to stop? Maybe you were not wanting to ask them, hoping that speed and pace of life at work or at home would somehow disguise your reality.
Last week I asked the questions…
If I asked those close to me,
I have discovered that, even with all the “good” practices I have in place to walk well with God…..to stay focused on operating in a Kingdom way….. my capacity to deceive myself is still “right around the corner”. The apostle Peter reminds us in 1 Peter 5:8. Reflect on the language of these different versions. They speak volumes.
“Keep a cool head. Stay alert. The Devil is poised to pounce, and would like nothing better than to catch you napping. Keep your guard up.”
1 Peter 5:8 MSG
“Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 NLT
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 NIV
You and I are reminded, in a very direct way, to not be “asleep at the switch” in our faith….to not operate in a naïve, blissful, unaware state of mind. In fact, the apostle Paul is just as direct in his charge to the Ephesian Christians.
One of the most important guards against my own deeply ingrained capacity to Edge God Out is a group of close, solid, sober-minded Godly men and women who have an open invitation from me to help watch out for my E.G.O. They help me “keep a cool head; stay alert; watch out and be of sober mind”.
So here is the question…..
Maybe you are still thinking that this couldn't happen to you.
I wonder if Solomon thought the same. He was touted as ‘wiser than all’ in his time. 1 Kings 4:30 NLT Yet, in his “wisdom”, he still chose to Edge God Out. He chose to allow his E.G.O. to go unchecked. 1 Kings 11 NLT outlines the command from the Lord for Solomon and his people to not intermarry because their hearts would be turned away from Him. Solomon, with his unchecked E.G.O., went ahead and still married 700 wives (not counting the additional 300 concubines). As a result, Solomon did not finish well. I wonder what may have been different if Solomon had a “Nathan” to speak into his life, as did his father David? 2 Samuel 12 NLT.
Who are the “Nathans” in your life?
A Deliberate Application:
- Read 1 Kings 11 NLT. Prayerfully reflect on Solomon’s blindness to his own E.G.O. Ask God to show you where you may be at risk?
- Who is in your close group of solid, sober-minded, Godly friends who can be “Nathans” for you?
- Who will you share this with?
