What you let influence you determines your light.
Among the many things I’ve been reflecting on lately has been what to do with the Great Commission call. When I’ve asked God in the past what my life’s calling is, that’s the response I’ve gotten. And it is true; every believer has this, dare I say, requirement on their life’s docket. If you have Jesus, share Him. Tell others about Him. Don’t sugarcoat anything, but remember that the Gospel is, by definition, “good news.”
But while we are here in this lifetime that God has given us, we also have a responsibility to care for ourselves, something that I’m only really now starting to grasp: what I let influence me determines my light. Or lack thereof. (Yikes!)
In the below passage, Jesus speaks to this very clearly:
“The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.””Luke 11:34-36 NKJV
In other words, what I let influence me determines also what I think about, what I speak about, how I react, and what I ultimately do.
God has been telling me to eliminate distractions. It’s been hard. I like to think I’m making progress but I’m definitely still struggling with it.
The clearest picture that has helped me with changing what I watch and listen to is the idea of replacing one thing with another. Although this isn’t foolproof, as a doer of things, it is far easier for me to replace one habit with another, compared with only removing a habit or only adding a habit. Whether I’m doing something good or something bad, I need to be doing something. If I only remove a bad habit, I struggle with not having enough to do and inevitably strive to end my self-perceived “starvation” by picking something to do, usually something that’s right in front of me or right next to me, regardless of whether it’s good or bad. On the converse, if I only add a new habit (even if good), then I stress over adding it to my existing queue of tasks and habits, and inevitably I may drop a responsibility (regardless of how large or small) when I never intended to.
Back to the list of three things I heard God tell me to do this year: (listed chronologically)
- Do not long for the former years.
- Rejoice.
- Eliminate distractions.
With God’s help, I believe I am finally beginning to see fruit in letting go all hope (almost) of getting back things lost from the past: past connections and missed connections, past opportunities and missed opportunities, do-overs on past mistakes, past geographies and locations, past careers, and past dreams. I meant it when I previously wrote on this blog that I was done with hoping for reunions with certain folks at (and from) certain locations. As much as I want to prove to my past that I’m not that person anymore, I’ve had to learn to let that go. If God is not the central part of the plan or ambition, I can’t have it. And I shouldn’t have it.
As for rejoicing, that has come in waves. I say this knowing that it is a choice and that I am to rejoice at all times. And I try, at least when I think of it.
“Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!”Philippians 4:4 NKJV
In August I received a prophetic word — a command — to praise God via my (piano) keyboard at home. And I’ve done that at times. But I’ve not done it nearly enough. But I will share that God has lately inspired me to begin yet another piano sonata, through a series of conversations, reflections, and encouragements. Additionally, I heard and received confirmation from yet another source regarding my piano playing (specifically in church) and God’s anointing on that as well.
[This leads me to suspect even more that the spiritual sense I got in April regarding work, combined with the layoff notice in June (that never came to fruition) was indeed a spiritual attack, and not a conviction of some kind of work-related sin! Interestingly, back in April right before I had gotten the aforementioned “spiritual sense,” I felt God speak to me very powerfully via this verse:
“Commit your works to the Lord, And your thoughts will be established.”Proverbs 16:3 NKJV
Even though I have my day job (and need to keep it!), I have felt that a good portion of my spiritual calling is through music, including performing songs and writing them. Interestingly, in the two-month span between said spiritual sense, and the layoff notice, God gave me great freedom to write a brand new piano sonata (4 movements) to celebrate a milestone birthday and newly married life. Most sonatas don’t get composed entirely within two months; this one did.
So, as such, I believe that I am trying to obey, especially considering that most of what has been happening doesn’t make sense. And I mean both the good and the bad.]
But, to return back to the original point, in order to be walking in obedience to the Lord, I must watch what I consume mentally. Jesus often used parables to explain the kingdom of heaven, comparing it to things that we see and experience here on earth. In a similar manner, just like the health condition I’ve been battling against has forced me to be superficial about what I eat, and drink, the same translates to what I read, here, and watch (as well as who I hang out with – a big discovery that God has been teaching me over the last couple years!). Sure, watching YouTube or listening to pop songs might seem “harmless” to most people. But especially as I’ve worked to grow closer to Jesus, I have noticed that what I watch, read, or listen to makes a difference.
“Keep your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring the issues of life.”Proverbs 4:23 NKJV
Or put another way:
“Guard your heart above all else, for it determines the course of your life.”Proverbs 4:23 NLT
And, finally:
“The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light.””Luke 11:34-36 NKJV
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