Do you find yourself in the middle of two opposing stances, not really making a solid commitment to either one? It’s a little more than being a swing voter and not much less than being wishy washy. A swing voter makes a decision at some point and commits to that decision when it counts. More specifically, I mean those times in life where we are not making a clear stance of being for Christ or against Him. We are usually right where we are choosing to be. Like the spaces between two tiles, I call this area the grout of life. We are not where we used to be completely but we make decisions that prevent us from living a life that pleases God -neither hot nor cold. Do you find yourself uncommitted in any or every area of your life? Have you ever wondered how to get out of the grout and into the abundant life Christ has for us?
The Key to Getting out of the Grout sounds so simple and boils down to one word: MOVEMENT
Movement & Stagnation happens 1 decision at a time.
Have you ever looked up and found yourself nowhere? It’s typically the feeling we have when we’re somewhere in the middle existing between where we were and where we we are aiming to be. We may feel stuck but in reality, we are seldom stuck.
Decisions are excuses. Decisions are deciding not to decide -you see indecision is a decision as well. Decisions look like being okay with sin in our lives. Decisions: quenching the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Decisions: petting or coddling habits and patterns of behavior in our lives for one reason or the other but it really boils down to preferring to please our flesh rather than honoring God.
The Key to Living the abundant Life Christ Promises us hinges on another word: PROGRESSING -The path and purpose of our MOVEMENT
Christ never lived His life in the grout. Regardless of where He was or who He was around -sinners or religious leaders- He was consistently clear about what He stood for periodt. He acknowledged His emotions and even desire to quit and not have to do the hard thing in the Garden of Gethsemane. Yet without sin, He yielded His will to that of the Father’s every time.
Will we continue to fall short? Absolutely. Will we ever be perfect this side of Heaven? Absolutely not! So where is the hope? The hope is in the process of sanctification: the daily walk we take with Christ where we yield to the inner witness of the Holy Spirit in our lives to renew our minds and conform us to the image of Christ. But He’s not a bulldozer. We have to make a conscious choice, one day, one moment, one decision at a time to be progressing not leaning on the excuse that we’ll never be perfect. When we mess up, confess, repent and try again- for we are no longer slaves to sin. We can walk in the freedom granted to us in Christ Jesus. It’s the progress that keeps us out of the grout and experiencing the abundant life that Christ has for us even while we’re here on earth.
Romans 12:2 NLT
Why not stay in the grout? Simply put, we were never meant to live there. Nothing good happens in the grout. I love stone tile on my bathroom floor or a beautiful glass tile backsplash in my kitchen. Other than the aesthetics, for purely practical reasons. They’re just easy to clean -except for the pesky grout. When sweeping, the bits of dirt get trapped there. When there’s a spill, the tile is easy to wipe clean but the grout is often a different story. One has to take special care to be certain it’s thoroughly cleaned as well. In the same way, living in the grout causes us to experience the consequences of decisions that take longer to fix, often leave more permanent damage, and get us caught in situations that were completely avoidable had we been making decisions based on the promises of God that would have protected us from the unintended consequences of our actions.
John 10:10 NLT
God calls us not to be perfect but to be progressing. Lord knows I still struggle with being slothful and could really use some prayer in that area of my life among others. What I can pray with you for to help you get out of the grout and walking in abundance in every area of your life?
clay and The Potter 