Never Be Lacking in Zeal

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11

We have been staying with the boys for a few days while their parents are out of town! It has been so much fun, but Bob and I admit it – we are tired! These boys go at it in everything they do! We aren’t used to these early busy days – rising at 6, cooking breakfast, making sure they are dressed, teeth and hair brushed, lunches packed, and Bob taking Miles to school at 7:30. Thankfully, Cole has spring break this week, or I would be going in the opposite direction with him. But since he has been home with us, he has been ready to play, and play we have! Then when Miles gets home, we do homework and play more!

We feel so privileged that we are able to do this and so grateful for this time together. At 7 and almost 5, these little guys are so full of energy, enthusiasm for life, and they keep us busy, but it is the greatest gift!

Saturday was a really special day! They both had soccer games, we packed a picnic lunch, ate in between games, and loved watching them run and play. They took their own participation so seriously, but yet they enjoyed every minute of it with their teammates. And they loved us cheering them on! One thing we can definitely say about both of them is that in every thing they do, they do it with enthusiasm and diligence. They truly give it their all, and “are never lacking in zeal!”

What a good reminder this verse is for us as Christians to be just as devoted and eager to keeping our spiritual zeal for Christ, for the Word of God, and for our church. Just like many other things in our lives, our faithfulness to God and our enthusiasm for Him may ebb and flow.

We may become less interested, or too busy, or our faith may lose importance if things are going well in our lives, or even the opposite – if there are overwhelming difficulties we need to deal with that take up our time and energy. We may have seasons when we become less focused on spiritual things and are more concerned with our own lives and the things of this world. We may not take the opportunities to spend time with God, attend church, read Scripture, or serve Him by helping others. It is so easy to become complacent or even lazy about our faith.

We may need to refresh our spirits from time to time and discipline ourselves to make time for God when we realize our priorities may have become misplaced. Prayer and time with Him will reinvigorate us and keep our zeal and spiritual fervor alive. God is so good to us and pours down His many blessings daily upon us.

If our hearts are consistently filled with gratitude and love for Him, we can never forget Him or lay Him aside. He deserves our honor and praise. He deserves our heartfelt devotion and love. He deserves our best. He deserves us giving Him our all!

   Prayer

Dear God, we thank you for your faithfulness to us even when our own devotion to you may waver from time to time. Help us to keep our eyes focused on you and not become distracted by the things of life. May we always be zealous in our desire to worship you, serve you, and honor you with our lives. Amen