Read
Proverbs 17:24,
"An intelligent person aims at wise action, but a fool starts off in many directions."
Think
"Uncovering our dysfunction is the catalyst to discovering God's function for our lives." Imagine walking barefoot on a wooden deck and getting several splinters. You have a few options. You can pretend the splinters don't exist. But if you do this, they'll end up becoming infected and cause you even more harm. You could try to wipe them out all at once with a rag, but there's no way to do that effectively. Or, you could intentionally and strategically use tweezers to pull one splinter out at a time. If you choose this course of action, it will be difficult and time-consuming, but eventually you'll be able to get them all out and begin healing. Dealing with character defects in our lives is much like that. Whether it is anger, envy, lust, greed, pride, slothfulness, or gluttony, we all have defects and dysfunction. We can choose to ignore them, but they'll only get worse. We can just hope they go away, but they won't. Instead, we need to employ God's strategy, and it is found in today's verse. To rid our lives of dysfunction, we must be intentional and strategic. Tackle each character defect one at a time. Because as you uncover the dysfunction in your life and ask God to help you with each defect one at a time, you'll begin to discover the catalyst to God's function for your life!
Act
When you're specific, you'll be prolific! Write down the one character defect or dysfunction that comes to mind before all the others. Write it down on a piece of paper. This week, continue to pray over that area in your life and trust God to work in your life to pull that splinter!
Pray
Dear Heavenly Father, I know there are several areas of my life where I need Your help. I have character defects and dysfunction that only You can change. So right now, I ask that you help me with my ___________ (fill in the blank with one of the defects above). I lean on You to help me get rid of this in my life so I can experience Your function and purpose for me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
