June 5 Devotion: Conditioning

Conditioning

Matthew 15:9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.

Growing up it was nothing for me to spend all day in a tobacco patch or hay field. You’d spend all day out in the sun, go home, and get up and repeat day after day. Due to my job being very slow at the moment I spent back to back days this week out in that sun on Tuesday and Wednesday. Tuesday I loaded square bales for a few hours and Wednesday I spent most of the day digging a ditch. While it was hot, neither of these days did I spend all day out working. When I got home Wednesday afternoon I was completely wore out. That gave me the thought for today’s devotion. I’m just not used to that manual, outdoor labor. I’ve spent a majority of my time working inside and thus conditioned myself to that environment. It then only took a few hours on back to back days to really feel the effects of that whereas when I was younger I’d do it week after week. Have we done the same thing with God. How many have conditioned themselves to think things have to be a certain way. They can only read or pray a certain amount of time. Many think services have to be done in a certain order (maybe that’s why God has been so good to us lately. We’ve allowed ourselves to not follow a routine). How many have conditioned their minds to thinking that being a Sunday or even just a Sunday morning christian will suffice. Have you ever prayed, studied, or gone to church cause that’s just what you do? You’ve conditioned yourself into certain routines instead of it being quality time with God. As God has showed up so much in our services lately have you ever found yourself holding back? Maybe not shouting, not crying a tear, not going to the altar to pray, or maybe even not to someone else all because it’s just not something you normally do. Now if God don’t tell you to do something then don’t, but we should never allow our routines to take precedence over the Spirit of God. Make sure today you’re not doing the things of God just because you’re supposed to. Don’t allow things to become routine and condition God right out of your life so to speak.

God bless you today! Bro. Josh Richardson