Romans 8:12-14 “So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!” Today's episode talks about turning to the Lord and relying on the Spirit to lead us through life instead of relying on ourselves to do everything. It also talks about listening to God's voice more and has two ways to do that. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Bury Your Old Do-It-Yourself Life
Romans 8:12-14 “So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go!”
The translation I used this morning is the message translation. I don’t usually use this translation, however, when I heard this verse with the translation yesterday on the Big Life Devotional Podcast by Pamela Crim, I knew it was the one I wanted to share with you. I think the other versions are good to, I just think this one says it so plainly it is hard to miss the message. The verse starts off by saying that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. I think this is hard for us to imagine. Do you know what the verse is talking about when it says, “this old do-it-yourself life?” I imagine it means all the things we try to do on our own, without inviting God into them.
I remember when I was on a retreat one time I felt as if I heard God tell me, “You are looking every where else for answers but not to me.” I was confused at first because of course I had asked God for help, of course I prayed about my situation. But what he revealed to me is that yes, I asked Him for help, but then I proceeded to try and figure the solution out on my own. I read every book I could on marriages or on parenting. I asked everyone I knew and really listened to what they had to say. I was really good at listening the my friends, the books, the professionals and implementing their advice. However, I wasn’t taking the time to sit with God and listen to Him.
I would talk at God, maybe to God, but not with God. It wouldn’t be a back and forth conversation. I would lay all my problems at His feet, ask Him how I could fix them, and then end prayer time without listening to how he wanted me to fix them. Have you ever done this? Have you ever talked at God? Have you ever laid all your problems at His feet and then picked them back up again and carried them into your day? I think that is what this verse is talking about. We don’t have to do everything ourselves. God wants to help us. He wants us to give Him our problems and then trust for Him to take care of them. As I am writing that I am thinking, that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything. I believe God likes it when we partner with Him. I don’t think God was telling me not to read any parenting books. What He was telling me was to spend time with Him every single morning. I started journaling every morning. I would wake up 30 minutes before I needed to be up with the kids and I would write to God. I would tell Him all that was on my mind. I would tell Him the things I read about and ask which things He thought I should try. I didn’t really know too much how to listen to His voice, but just journaling and talking through things with Him was beyond helpful.
I have since learned how to take time and listen to God and it has been amazing. There are lots of ways you might here God talking, not actually hear his voice, but know what He is saying to you. One of those ways is sitting still and just listening. If you ask God to talk to you and then you are still and listen, the things that come to your mind could be from God. His voice usually sounds a lot like your own voice as that is what if familiar to you. For instance I asked God to help me figure out what I could do to help my son Ryan who is struggling right now. I was quiet and listened and then the idea to have Ryan invite his friend to boxing with him so they can both work out their troubles on a punching bag instead of other unhealthy ways. Was this definitely from God, who knows, but I asked God for a solution and one came to me so I definitely think the Holy Spirit gave me the idea.
When you are listening for God’s voice, it will most likely not be a booming voice coming from the sky, like those movies that have a narrator. God is usually much more subtle than that. It is usually a thought that is put in your head. You have to be purposefully listening or you might miss it. Although having said that I can think of a few stories when God was trying to tell someone something and they didn’t want to hear it so they were not listening and He had three different people, strangers even, give them the message they needed to hear. I believe God is longing for us to spend time listening to Him. I believe He wants us to come to Him to listen each day. However, if there is a message He needs you to hear, He will get your attention somehow.
The next part of the verse says, “The best thing to do is give it a decent burial and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons.” This is referring to your “do-it-yourself” attitude. That is not serving you. There is nothing in that for you. Do you remember you life before Christ? Maybe you didn’t have a life before Christ. Maybe you have believed since birth. Maybe your parents taught you about God your whole life. When Catholics talk about this they usually say, “I am a cradle Catholic.” When you hear this they mean they have been Catholic their whole life. Even if this is you, do you remember a time before you really understood what it all meant? Do you remember a time when you felt you were on your own and you had to do it all yourself? Do you remember a time when you knew all about Jesus and yet you lived your life how you wanted to, instead of how He wanted you to?
For some of us this is a specific day and time. We know exactly when we turned our life over to Jesus and there was no turning back. For others, it is more like a roller coaster. We turn to Jesus, then we turn away, then we turn back, then we turn away. What this verse is saying is that we need to say goodbye to our old life. The one where we do it all ourselves. The one where we are too busy for God. The one where we feel alone and unloved. The one where we do whatever we want to do. In other translations it says the one where we live according to our flesh. This means we listen to what our body wants us to do instead of what God wants us to do. However, it is time to say goodbye to that old life, it is time to bury it and get on with our new life.
The next three words are awesome. “God’s Spirit Beckons” How great is that? God’s Spirit, you know, the one that raised Jesus from the dead, beckons you. How crazy is that? God’s Spirit is calling out to you, calling you to come closer to God. The reason we don’t have to do everything ourselves is because Jesus died on a cross for us and then went up into heaven to be with His dad. He didn’t want to leave us alone so He sent the Holy Spirit to come be with us. He sent the Holy Spirit to guide us in His ways. If we listen to the Holy Spirit, instead of our flesh, we will have life and we will have it abundantly. If we listen to our flesh we will die.
The last line in the message translation says, “There are things to do and places to go!” God has amazing plans for your life. He really does. Maybe you are in a season right now where that is really hard to believe. That’s ok, you don’t have to believe it, I will believe it for you. I know it to be true. God wants to shower His children with love and abundance in all things. He wants to ridiculously bless you. If you are struggling right now, please hang on. I don’t know God’s timing but I know if you are struggling right now, then He is not finished with you yet. God does not want His children to suffer. God has places for you to go and things for you to do. This is true even when we can’t see it or don’t understand it. His plans can seem like they come out of no where. For instance I remember saying, several years ago, “Why am I the only person in my family that can’t write?” My siblings and parents all have such talent in that area and when I try to come up with a poem or a story, nothing would come to me. Fast forward several years and I am writing a podcast episode daily and I have written two books. God is a mystery and yet it all makes sense in His eyes.
If you don’t know the amazing things God has planned for you, join the club. We usually don’t know them until we are living them. However, if you are stuck in a pit and can’t see any light, know that there is light. Reach out and talk with someone about it. Nothing changes if nothing changes. Talk to God, and take the time to listen. One trick I have for listening to God’s voice, which I learned form Fern Gorin at the Life Purpose Institute is to write a letter to God and then ask God to answer your letter back to you using your pen. Then you write whatever comes to mind. Don’t question it, don’t think about it, just write every thought that comes into your mind. This has been such a blessing to me. Listening to what God has to say and then having the written record so I can go back and reread it anytime I need encouragement has been amazing. If you are struggling right now, give this letter writing a try. You will be amazed at what you hear from God. He is so encouraging and loving. He says the kindest things. If you are getting thoughts that are not kind, know that is not from the Lord. He only says things that build you up and encourage. God loves you very much and He doesn’t want any of His children to suffer. He is with you!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to live by the spirit and not by our flesh. Help us not only turn to you but actually take the time to slow down and listen to you. Help guide us and lead us into the amazing life you have for us. Help us to bury our old do it yourself life and live into a Spirit led life. Lord, you are amazing and we love you tons! We ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again tomorrow. Remember Jesus loves you and so do I. Have a blessed day!