“Though the Hill is High…”

According to several online sites, women speak on the average approximately 15,000 – 20,000 words per day. (It’s hard to imagine someone had the time to watch and count all the words these surveyed women spoke!) 20,000 words! That’s a lot of sentences. I had no idea so many words could come from me in one day!

The Bible says “whatsoever ye do in word…” should be done in the name of the Son of God. All 20,000 of them! I need to really thing about what I say because I know there are times when what I say does not honor Jesus. I’m not talking about using bad language, I’m referring to things like gossip, anger, or even those little white lies. Sometimes things slip out before I even realize it, and I’ve said something just plain stupid or hurtful, often a result of my pride. I need to remember, “And whatsoever you do in word…” and think before I speak. This is not going to be easy, but I have God on my side, and He promises to help me (Isaiah 41:10).

What about the things I do? I confess I don’t really think about the Lord when I do my household chores, like laundry, washing the dishes, or vacuuming the house, but the Bible tells me “And whatsoever ye do in word or deed…” My “deeds” also include grocery shopping, reading, raking leaves… This list goes on and on! The things I do may not be as many as the words I speak, but it’s another long list. It’s easy to do things of service to God in Jesus’ name. Things like teaching Sunday school or singing in the choir, but what about the mundane everyday things? Things like watching television, cooking dinner, or writing bills? There are so many things I do each day. Can I say I am doing “all in the name of the Lord Jesus”?

I can’t.

So what do I do about it? I realize that I cannot change to become more aligned with what God wants in my life until I deal with what is misaligned. That means I need to examine where I stand in my walk with God. This is undoubtedly going to be a painful process, but it is a necessary one. Once I identify what is not spoken or done in the name of Jesus, I will need to seek God’s forgiveness, and then make the necessary changes, which goes along with my 2020 verse, Romans 12:1. “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.” My “reasonable service” toward becoming a “living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God” begins with an in-depth self evaluation.

That’s my resolution… my commitment to God this year. I want to present my body “… a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God…” To do so, I must “…do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.” It is not going to be easy, but when the going gets tough, I will remember Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” It promises to be a great year!

Thine, most gracious Lord,
O make me wholly Thine.
Thine in thought, in word and deed
For Thou O Christ, art mine.

Wholly Thine, wholly Thine;
Thou hast bought me, I am Thine;
Blessed Savior, Thou art mine;
Make me wholly Thine.

(from “Wholly Thine” by A. Hawks and R. Lowry)

“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.” Ephesians 5:1-2

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“Though the hill is high, I still desire to walk up it. I don’t care how difficult it is, because I understand that it leads to the way of life.” ― John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress