Discipleship Hacks

…and they shall name him Emmanuel, which means “God is with us.” Matthew 1:23

I don’t know about you, but I love those little “life hack” videos that pop up on my newsfeed.  Things like putting hot glue dots on your hangers to keep slippery closes from falling off or 20 ways to organize junk, using random items around the house.  Granted, some of them are pretty ridiculous but most of them come from folks who are way smarter and more creative than I am so I find myself watching and saying, “Seriously, that is awesome, why didn’t I think of that!”  My mind likes simple, efficient and logical so if someone wants to pass along a little of that I’m gonna soak it up!

What I really love though, is when someone can give me some “life hacks” for my discipleship!  Sometimes I can try to do 40 things at once to try to be holier and wind up in a tail spin.  That’s usually when I get discouraged and feel like I’ll never be “good” enough to get to heaven.  I’m getting better at promptly stopping that kind of thinking and calling it out for what it is…discouragement and we all know who throws that up in our face!  That’s when we need to stop and say “Oh No…not today satan! You messed with the wrong disciple!”  I know that no matter how crooked my path gets or how twisted around I become, as long as my heart is headed in HIS direction he’s gonna grab my hand and put me on his path if I call out for guidance.  It’s like DIVINE GPS. (I’m pretty sure GPS stand for Gods Perfect Strategy) My discipleship and my path to holiness often looks like a fish floppin around on the bank, so anytime I can find a quick “something” to snap me back and return me to water, I’m happy.  I found a little something that does just that so I thought I’d share.  Like all those great tips and tricks we find on the “inter-webs” this isn’t mine but if it’s helpful, it’s worth sharing so…thanks to no work of my own…here ya go!  

It begins with reminding ourselves of a simple fact. Since we were created in the image and likeness of God, then he’s always in us  and with us. In short, we don’t need to do a lot of hard fancy stuff to get his attention because we never leave his gaze.  I can’t hide from him so I can never really be lost.  It’s simple but I can’t count the number of times I forget that.  Remembering that is step one, step two is remembering the word WIT.  This teeny word can lead us to holiness and save us from bad decisions, stupid actions and regrettable words.  Here’s how it works.  Jesus, live this day (or this moment; or this event; or this situation) WITH me; Live it IN me; Live itTHROUGH me.  If you want the quicker version, at that split second when we’re about to gossip or lie or judge or lip off  impatiently, or be afraid, what if we stopped long enough to say “Jesus, with me, in me and through me!” I’m pretty darn sure what would happen next would be a much better outcome. I spend a lot of prayer time telling him how sorry I am for all the stupid stuff I do and say and think.  If I put the WIT prayer in action I’m pretty sure I’m gonna have a lot more time for saying prayers of gratitude!

A Seed To Plant:  Write down the words to the WIT prayer and put it a few places you’ll notice and ask God to help you make it a frequent prayer in your day.​

Blessings on your day!