I have been reading If by missionary Amy Carmichael. It has been extremely convicting. I will be sharing more quotes from that excellent book in the future, but, in the meantime, I thought I’d share some of my own “ifs” that I have been pondering. 


I began thinking about these after considering this verse: Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” 


Do I really seek Him first? Do I truly desire to be led and fed and directed by Christ, and Christ alone? Sadly, I would say that I do not. So often I seek after my own physical pleasures first. I want to satisfy my own wants and please Him last. Please do not misunderstand this post as some ultra spiritual “a ha” moment. It is not. I’m just sharing a few thoughts that the Lord has convicted me with through my daily walk, and through some deep valleys my husband and I have been in lately.

• If I work for the Lord, and indeed, as a Christian I should work for Him, then I will let Him order my days. I will let Him decide when I need a vacation, and where to and for how long. 
• If I am truly seeking Him first, then I will place a greater value on my walk with God than on my belongings or my hobbies.
• If I truly love Him first and foremost, then the loss of friends, while painful, is but a minuscule taste of what my Master suffered at Gethsemane.
• If I am constantly striving to please Him, then I will never feel alone, even when no one is around.
• If Christ is the one I’m striving to please and imitate, then I will speak the truth in love, and know that He is pleased.
• If I truly love my Lord, then I will mean the words to the song “I Have Decided to Follow Jesus”. As that song says, “Though no one join me, still I will follow.” And I will follow gladly.

With a convicted heart,