Hebrews 12:1-2 | What am I going to do about it?

My wife is brilliant when it comes to diet and nutrition. This has been a long time passion for her and it has been a deep desire of hers to bring that passion to the church. There is just one problem. Eating healthy is something that she loves to do. It has been a wrestle to translate that same passion to people that love not eating healthy. She has had to work through many ideas of how to make eating healthy simple. As she and I have had many conversations about it, we landed at a very simple solution for those looking to fix up their diet.

If you want to change the way you eat, change the way you shop.

I call this, "Restocking the Shelves". I have found for myself that I will eat the junk food I buy. So if I buy healthy foods and that is what makes up my pantry, then I am left eating healthy. Rather than focusing on all these different diet techniques, I focused on shopping techniques. The spiritual plan of action is a similar one.

If I want my focus and attention to be set upon Jesus, I have to ask myself a simple question. What are the shelves of focus and attention stocked with? It can be a multitude of things. Are they stocked with media, movies, music, and the like? Are they stocked with work, stress, and anxiety? Are they stocked with fear of my own sin and those weights that pull me down? Most of my own life is spent deeply invested into Scripture already. However, I must admit that a lot of that time in Scripture is not for my development. It is spent there for the development of others. Many past mentors and wise pastors have warned me of this temptation in ministry. I have felt a lack in myself of that development. As I look upon the shelves of my own life, there is that one shelf that is way up high that makes it difficult for anyone else to see. And I can see some junk food on it.

Anyone who is particularly close to me knows and understands that my evenings a sacred to me. With so much of my time being spent investing into people, studying, being a husband to my wife, a father to my children, and a friend to those who need it, the time I have in the evenings is a time I can decompress. Usually I would watch a show or play a video game in order to wind down for bed. As I find it becoming increasingly difficult to get silence and solitude, I look at that shelf that has just the space I would need. For a long time, I would not have identified it as a weight, and I can ensure it certainly is not a participation of sin. As I look at that time, I see the sacrifice that must be made. It is not wrong to watch a show, or to play games. However, it is a valued time that would allow me to truly set my eyes upon Jesus.

The example I am giving is one that I have already begun to make moves on. It is a time now spent allowing the Lord to simply pour into me. It has become a precious time of silence and solitude where my attention may not be drawn any other way. For the joy set before Jesus, He endured the cross. For the joy set before me, I take up mine.

What application are you implementing?