Fickleness and loyalty

I have a tendency to get things done in a rush. There seems to be a human tendency to get excited about something, to pursue it enthusiastically, and then to let it fizzle out again. It happens to me in my exercise programs. I have started various gymnastics programs over the years. In college, I ran and played tennis. I joined a fitness club for a while and exercised regularly. I later trained in my living room under the guidance of exercise videos. For a couple of years I went for walks. Now I'm training with videos again and I'm still hiking. Sometimes I train every day, then for various reasons I let it be a few weeks again, then I come back to it and almost have to start all over again.

Sometimes I am also in a hurry, spiritually speaking. Sometimes I meditate and write in my diary every day, then I switch to a prepared study and forget the diary. At other times in my life, I have simply read through the Bible and been exposed to the studies. I picked up devotional books and then exchanged them for other books. Sometimes I stopped praying for a while and did not open my Bible for a while.

I beat myself up because I thought it was a character weakness - and maybe that's the case. God knows that I am unsteady and fickle, but he still loves me.

Many years ago, he helped me set the direction of my life - towards him. He called me by name to be one of his children, to know him and his love and be redeemed by his son. And even if my faithfulness fluctuates, I always move in the same direction - towards God.

AW Tozer put it this way: I would emphasize this one obligation, this great act of will that creates the heart's intention to look to Jesus forever. God accepts this resolution as our choice and takes into account the many distractions that afflict us in this world. He knows that we have directed our hearts towards Jesus, and we too can know and comfort ourselves with the knowledge that a habit of the soul is forming which after a certain time becomes a kind of spiritual reflex that is not conscious It takes more effort on our part (The Pursuit of God, p. 82).

Is not it great that God fully understands the fickleness of the human heart? And is not it great to know that it helps us to stay in the right direction, always focused on his face? As Tozer says, if our hearts are focused on Jesus long enough, we will establish a habit of the soul that leads us straight into the eternity of God.

We can be grateful that God is not fickle. He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. He is not like us - he never does things in a hurry, with starts and stops. He is always faithful and remains with us even in times of unfaithfulness.

by Tammy Tkach


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