Loyalties
📖Daily Reading
Joshua 23-24
🎥 Video
Join me on my morning walk as we rise and shine together by walking through the Bible daily and learn a practical applicable coaching nugget from the ultimate life coach - our creator (whatever that means to you). No judgement zone here, all are welcome, we are all on a spiritual journey because we are after all spiritual beings having a human experience.
📝 Reflection
Joshua 24: 14
“So, fear the Lord and serve him whole-heartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates Rive and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone.”
As promised I really spent some time meditating further on the verses from the last 2 days and thinking deeper about identity. It is worth really spending some time exploring this for yourself. Your identity and what you identify with and where you put your loyalty shapes your days and your life and the lives of your descendants. The Levites and tribes of Gad, Reuben and half of Manasseh knew their descendants needed to know that their identity first needed to be their loyalty to God. They knew that their lack of land in the case of the Levites and the location of their land for the other tribes may cause themselves, others and their descendants to question this loyalty and shift their loyalty away from God.
As I have already shared with you and as I have been unpacking this concept personally, I have felt ‘homeless’ in a sense my entire life. I also am a child of a chaotic family and ultimately ended in a nasty divorce. I think this is why God placed this word loyalty this morning on my heart to personally explore. I have struggled with loving both of my parents and feeling loyal to both of them while simultaneously feeling like I was betraying each of them in the process. I know I am not alone in this! Divorce is painful and can literally ‘blow up’ a family and cause a lot of harm to each family member and their identities in the process. If left un-examined and if loyalties feel divided and contradictory this can wreak havoc in the lives of the individuals touched, like yours’ truly!
As of right now I am making the conscious choice to ‘go all in’ with and be loyal to God alone. This rise and shine adventure together is my ‘altar’ to not only to remind me but to firmly establish a new thing - I am establishing my identity in Christ alone. I am going to take the good from my ancestors, and my own past self, and leave the not so good behind and place all of my loyalty in Him and His ways. Even if it is not making sense from my human self who wants to understand things logically. Just stepping out in faith and wrestling with things that have been such a struggle for me in my personal journey. It is no wonder I have struggled now as I look at it through the words of scripture. We humans have been struggling with these things for thousands of years. I am not alone, and neither are you. I am not broken and neither are you. I have been seeking answer is all the wrong places - “and I still haven’t found what I’m looking for”(U2). I have just been confused and suffering from the disease to please other humans, some of whom I love very much. I have been confused because I am trying to be loyal to earthly and human structures, concepts and systems. I have been searching for my identity in a place, in being from somewhere, in a family name etc…
My love for my family is a wonderful thing, and their love for me in return. My desire to have and provide a stable home for myself and my family is a good thing. My concern for my friends is lovely. My dedication to my career and those I serve is worthy of striving for. These things are all great when they are in their proper place and perspective. My ultimate loyalty and identity is in Christ - I am going all in.
This is a great experiment and adventure. Years ago I had a lovely woman give me an invitation to just explore a relationship with Jesus - she said something like - ‘what have you got to lose - just give it a try, if it doesn’t work for you, no problem, just go back to your old ways’. So I started dipping my toes in, wading in the shallows and slowly going deeper. I have also used this approach with other changes that I have a desire to make or explore. Just give it a try - the ‘old way’ will always be waiting for you to return if it doesn’t work out. But what if it does…….? It is a journey and a process. If what I am unpacking here seems overwhelming and intimidating. That is ok, allow a seed to be planted and water it. It has taken me 20 years to get here and I still have a lifetime to go!
✍🏼Daily Journal Prompt
What are you putting your loyalties in that maybe aren’t working for your highest good and potential?
📖Tomorrows Reading
Judges 1-3
Coaching Opportunity
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