5 Things God Convicted Me of in My Past That Changed My Life
This is going to be a unique blog post. Most people, myself included, are afraid of admitting their shortcomings. However, the beauty of shortcomings is that they are how we grow. God did a lot of work on me in years past. From convicting me and pushing me towards changing many areas of my life. So for today’s post, let’s take a look at 5 things that God convicted me of years ago. I'll also explain how I corrected them! My hope is that my readers will be able to nitpick from my mistakes and learn from them if they need to.
1. Pride.
Pride is one of the three cardinal sins and is one of the most powerful tools that the enemy possesses. I began my walk as a Christian in a very humbled state. However, I was a very gifted baby Christian. As the years passed by, pride began to build within me. Pride that I could overcome things myself, the pride that I was perhaps better than some people, and entitlement for certain things and certain positions. One of the most dangerous mistakes we can make is to begin believing that we can do things simply because we are better, and not recognizing that all gifts and abilities come from God.
More on this topic: Leaning on God; The Best Antidote to Pride
2. Comfort and complacency.
I have become very comfortable and very complacent. By American culture’s standards, those are good things. By God’s standards, those are terrible things. When we become comfortable and complacent with the positions we have, with growing marginally and living ordinarily, we have been all but taken out of the fight. Comfort and complacency inhibit drastic growth, and when you pair pride with comfort and complacency, you are ripe for the enemy’s traps. I am at my spiritual best when I am uncomfortable, and when I am growing and getting better drastically each day. Therefore, I am making efforts every day to do more, to be less comfortable, and less complacent.
More on this topic: Jesus Did Not Avoid The Uncomfortable (Neither Should We)
3. Lack of spiritual authority.
Over the past year or so, I have not had significant spiritual authority in my life. I’m not just talking about the church here. I’m talking about a person that is well beyond you in spiritual maturity, that you look up to, and submit to because of that. We all need a spiritual authority in our lives unless you find yourself on Paul’s level – in which case, you are probably saving millions of souls, and have a solid group of friends as well as mentees. When you don’t have spiritual authority in your life, your growth will be stunted, and you won’t have somebody that can challenge you to be better, or walk with you when you stumble.
More on this topic: Spiritual Growth Matters for Christians [Are You Still Growing?]
4. Boasting.
This one falls under the pride section but definitely needs to be mentioned here. Very early on in my walk, I realized that one of my callings in life was to Men’s ministry, and specifically to inspire men to find adventure while finding God’s heart. Over the years, this has been coupled with my pride, and I began to boast. Boasting is bragging about your possessions, accomplishments, or even your struggle, in an attempt to gain approval from or to impress others. Rather than living to serve God, and to “impress” God, my pride began to seek approval from others – particularly on social media. Being successful and boasting is a fine line, a good barometer is to ask yourself “Does my social media page glorify myself, or does it glorify God and how He is moving in my life?”
More on this topic: Being Made Needy by Wealth
5. The Sabbath.
The Sabbath is one of the most basic commandments in the bible. For those that do not know, God commands us to take the first day of each week (usually a Sunday), and give it to Him. We are called to come to a complete stop, and to do no work. Trusting in God, we are then to go work our tails off for the next six days. Begin to watch as we accomplish more in those six days than we could have on our own in seven.For me, the conviction came in the fact that I was not completely stopping for one day of my week. Rather than taking a Sabbath, I was going out and working on my hobbies or something of the like. I would enter into each workweek exhausted from the weekend, and probably get 70% of my working potential each day. Take one Sabbath day at the beginning of each week, and watch as God blesses the remaining six days.
More on this topic: How to Rest Well: Understanding the Sabbath
There you have it, five things that God convicted me of over the years! Pride, comfort which kills progress, lack of spiritual authority, boasting (especially on social media), and not taking a Sabbath – what a list! Thank you all for reading, and be blessed this week!