2:167 – Can I Just Phone It In?

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Here’s the scenario: You are getting over a cold and didn’t sleep well the night before. The kids have you running amuck, work is busy, and you have too much to do. All you want to do is sleep. This is a say when you just want to phone it in. In other words, do the bare minimum to get through the day. No judgement here, as today was one of those days. Sure I got stuff done, but I’m exhausted and didn’t want to go above and beyond.

Just like our daily lives, sometimes we phone in our spiritual life. I don’t need to go to church today. No one will miss me and I can just pray. I don’t need to thank God for every meal, just once in a while. He knows what I’m feeling. Someone asked for thoughts and prayers and you said you’ve got them, but never actually pray. This is what phoning in our spiritual life looks like. Do you phone it in or are you 100% engaged? (and yes, it’s not just a binary choice)

Scripture

• But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the LORD, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. – Jeremiah 31:33
• I will give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart, And will glorify Your name forever. – Psalm 86:12
• Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5
• You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. – Deuteronomy 6:5

Reflection

We begin in Jeremy with the covenant between God and his people. He says he will put his word in our heart. Then he will be our God and we his people. We are bonded. Then be tells us to love, trust, and give thanks with every fiber of our being. That doesn’t sound like we should be phoning it in.

Does that mean that we won’t have down days or days when we feel less like it? Of course not. But those are the days when we need to reflect on His gifts, His wonders, and His salvation. Then we can remember why we need to be dutiful, fully engaged servants of God.

I’ll be honest. On Sunday, I was exhausted and didn’t want to go to worship. I would have been content to stay home and sleep. I might have done it if I didn’t have sound board duty. But I didn’t phone it in. We went, had good fellowship and reconnected with friends.

So while we may want to take the easy way out, it doesn’t reward is like God does in his promises.

Charge

Are you worn out? Are you phoning it in in different areas in your life? Is your spiritual growth one of them? Maybe, that is why you see a decline or struggle in other areas of your life. Take time to fully engage with God. He will grant you refuge and strength

Prayer

Dear Lord, some days the struggle is real. We want to take the easy way out and phone it in. We just don’t have the energy to fully engaged. Fill us with your love, stamina, and strength to fight against what is dragging us down. Help is to be be the people you want us to be. Protect us from the temptation of just phoning it in. In your name, Amen.