Monday February 28 , 2011
Theme: Love Serves
Weekend Music links on iTunes: Hosanna (Praise Is Rising) - Paul Baloche, Run - Hillsong, None But Jesus - Hillsong, Attention - Know Hope Collective
Read: Ecclesiastes 3:1-3; Peter 4:10
Think: There was a word from the weekend sermon that really stuck out to me and the word was, “plateau.” Think about the areas in our life this word might apply. Maybe your investments have hit a plateau, maybe your marriage has hit a plateau or maybe your job has hit a plateau. It’s obvious that when any of these areas have hit a plateau, it carries a connotation of stagnancy, unchanged, or no longer increasing in value and the emotional outcome seems to be universal for all- we get discouraged and fall into a sense of hopelessness
This is also true when it comes to our faith journey. There seems to be nothing more joyful than to feel connected with the living God yet it seems to be inevitable that a time comes when you feel like you’ve hit a “plateau” along the way. The busyness of life catches up and the overwhelming chores of daily life seem to take the highest priority and our relationship with God takes a back seat. As a result, faith changes from joy to frustration, which eventually leads to callousness.
Just like the beautiful seasons of Seattle, our faith also goes through several seasons- one being the season of “plateau,” yet God can redeem this from something unwanted to something necessary. During the plateau season of your faith journey, we should see it as a time for…
1) Expectation – expect that as we continue to seek God, He will reveal Himself to you in a powerful way.
2) Realization – Realize what God has already done for you and what He has given you and rest in thankfulness
3) Activation – Activate yourself in this season to move on to the next season of your faith. The best way to do this is to stay active in your spiritual disciplines i.e. prayer, reading scripture, Growth Groups, Church, etc…
When we seek and trust God in every facet and every season of our life, we come out from spiritual plateau to spiritual maturity.
Do: If you’re in a plateau season of faith, do something different that refreshes your relationship with God. Sometimes our faith is like lifting weights. If you do the same regiment week after week, your muscles grow at a slower rate but if you change it up, you “shock” your muscles and growth increases quicker.
Pray: God, you know my heart and right now it seems like I’m in a season of plateau. During this time, help me to see all the things I should be thankful for and help me to get excited for the next season you have for me
The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.