April 4, 2018
“Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.” – Deuteronomy 6:5
I went to the chiropractor this morning, and I am always amazed at his ability to diagnose a problem. He often adjusts some part of me that seems completely unrelated to the issue I came in complaining about. But it seems his adjustment always works. The reason for this is that our bodies are a system in which every aspect must be working properly. When your spine is out of adjustment, it doesn’t just affect your spine but it can also affect things like your digestion, your vision, or your circulation. Everything must be aligned for you to be healthy and fully functioning.
Likewise, our spiritual selves consist of a system that must be in proper alignment. Because of this, we often have symptoms that seem completely unrelated to an unhealthy area of our lives. For instance, trouble in your marriage might actually be due to a failure to submit your finances to God. Or problems at work might actually be the result of an unhealthy prayer life. This is why Deuteronomy 6:5 calls us to love the Lord with everything we are. Jesus calls this the greatest commandment; the one that must come before all others (Luke 10:27). Likewise, Romans 12:1 tells us to sacrifice, or submit, our whole selves to God. So if you are struggling in some area of life today, step back and take a look at what other areas of your life might not be in submission to God. The two may seem unrelated, but a problem of misalignment in your relationship with God, or a failure to submit your whole self to Him, will quickly cause problems in many other facets of your life.
Lord God, give us the wisdom and strength to live lives wholly submitted to You.
In Christ’s Service,
Pastor Shane Cannon <><
