Tuesday, September 26, 2017 The Divine Center of Simplicity– the First of the Outward Disciplines (The Discipline of Simplicity, Part 1)

Tuesday, September 26, 2017

The Divine Center of Simplicity– the First of the Outward Disciplines (The Discipline of Simplicity, Part 1)

Scripture:

Ecclesiastes 7:30 (JB)

God made man simple; man’s complex problems are of his own devising.

Devotional:

‘Tis a gift to be simple

‘Tis a gift to be kind

‘Tis a gift to smile and to share a happy mind

‘Tis a gift from the Father as we go on our way

With a joyful smile at the start of the day

‘Tis the gift to be simple

‘Tis the gift to be free

‘Tis the gift to come down where you ought to be

And when we find ourselves in the place just right

‘Twill be in the valley of love and delight.

              -Shaker hymn

“It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick. Until we see how unbalanced our culture has become at this point, we will not be able todeal with the mammon spirit within ourselves nor will we desire Christian simplicity.” -Richard Foster

My, do I relate to and feel convicted by today’s passages on simplicity! I grew up in challenging financial circumstances. My parents did struggle to make ends meet for the majority of my young life, at one time to the extent of homelessness. My poor dad and mom had to feed us ant-infested granola when I was eight simply because there was no other food.

My own road has been winding and varied, but God has truly blessed me at this later stage of my life with a relative measure of physical comfort, and for the first time in my life I am lacking no necessity. In the beginning of this stage of my life, it was hard for me not to feel that I had arrived at the place I wanted to be. This was the blessing that God had prepared for me, and I would no longer have the problems I had when money was so tight all the time. However, God has gently ministered to my heart that there is no more peace in having more if there is no inner calm and simplicity.

Simplicity is the “inward reality that results in an outward life-style.” The inner dependence on God and our hunger to be filled with Him will lead us to that inner simplicity which opens out into our flesh and blood, real world. We can’t live outside the manic culture of wanting more and better without that center.

I desire to have this true simplicity. Over the years I can’t count the truckloads of “things” that God has led me to purge, and each time I felt lighter and more free as a result. It is important to remember, as Pastor Foster reminds us, this must begin inside so that it does not take on the death of legalism. It is freeing to understand it is possible to be simple, not weighed down by this greed and selfishness. It is always possible to begin anew and afresh to allow God to simplify us and our worlds.

“Courageously, we need to articulate new, more human ways to live. We should take exception to the modern psychosis that defines people by how much they can produce or what they can earn. We should experiment with bold new alternatives to the present death-giving system. The Spiritual Discipline of simplicity is not a lost dream, but a recurrent vision throughout history. It can be recaptured today. It must be.” (Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline, Simplicity).

Prayer:

Thanksgiving:

Loving and Gracious Father, I love You and I worship You. You alone are the Center I need.

Confession:

God, I confess that simplicity is hard to embrace in this culture. It is not easy to ignore the intense affluence in this world, and I desire not to be trapped by the lies that affluence is what gives me value. Forgive me for any inner greed. (Confess any other areas of struggle. I share mine in the spirit of James 5:16. I think it is important that I look honestly at my own challenges with believing my worth is in my success or lack thereof. I have never been personally very successful financially, and have placed a low value on myself as a result. Being married to my husband who is able to provide quite comfortably, I have struggled with believing that I have more value as a result, but still felt inadequate. I want You to change me inwardly and permanently, God. I do desire to live centered and filled with You. Remove the wounds at the center of this shaky foundation, and cause me to be simple, and fully in love with You.)

Supplication:

God, I want to be more like You today. Let simplicity be renewed in me, and teach me to walk this road with joy.

Intercession:

God, I do not want to raise greedy, entitled children. Show me the way to live in simplicity that I can model and train this for my children. Flow through us with the Center You desire for us. (Journal needs and concerns. Chloe: She does struggle with entitlement, and I need to have Your strategy for building in simplicity from the foundation for her. Give me patience with her as I train her in Your way. Christian: He has is own brand of entitlement, and it is very difficult to say no to him when he is demanding one of the few things he is truly interested in. Help him to understand and learn the inner blessing of simplicity. Do not let entitlement fester in his heart, Lord. He can’t tell us what is happening in his heart, so help us to trust him to You. Strengthen me when I need to tell him “no.”)

Thanksgiving and Consecration:

Lord, I love You and I am so blessed to be Your child! Parent me to parent these children today. You are good and gracious and wonderful. Blessed be Your Name, Holy Father. In Jesus’ Name I pray, amen.