In All Your Ways

I was meditating on the popular passage Proverbs 3:5-6 this morning and the beginning of verse 6 jumped out at me. "Think about Him in all your ways."

I like to categorize and put things in different boxes in my life: faith, work, fitness, personal life, family time, church, etc. While these are all different components of my life, faith is not one that should be separate from the others. Faith should be the foundation of each area. It should permeate all aspects of my life. It is not something that we pull out on Sundays and place back on the shelf until the following week or until life gets hard. It is every day, every situation, every breath.

I live in the South where basically everyone goes to church. It’s a social event. But sometimes you can’t tell the difference between those who go to church and those who don’t. During the week, compartmentalizing church go-ers don’t live like they love Jesus. They live like they love themselves and they only let God have the Sunday box in their life.

It's like a house - faith and your relationship with Jesus is the understructure upon which all the "rooms" stand upon. Faith isn’t a bonus room. Jesus should be the bedrock, the base of all you do.

One way I try to be intentional about having foundational faith is by selecting a verse to pray over each area of my life. This verse is my "purpose statement" for that area.

I have a high calling with my job and so do you. So for work (ESL teacher here!), I have a verse about loving the sojourner and speaking kindness. God has called us to honor Him in what we spend our money on and to live a life of monetary discipline. Therefore, with finances, I have a verse about discipline. (This has helped me so much as I love to buy a new outfit on an emotionally difficult day). Even our singleness has purpose for His kingdom. I pray 1 Corinthians 7:34b, asking that I, as an unmarried woman, stay devoted to the Lord during this season. Regarding ongoing struggles, I pray encouragement that God is not done with me and will complete me when Jesus comes back (Philippians 1:6).

Jesus is the foundation of all aspects of our lives. Don't make Him a "church box" or a "Sunday room." Maybe you need to tear down your house, set a firm foundation, and rebuild.

I challenge you to list important areas in your life and search for verses that speak into that area. Then start reading them aloud and praying them every day.

Acknowledge Him in all your ways today.