"The Secret of Spiritual Consistency"

I was reading this morning from Oswald Chambers "My Utmost For His Highest" and this was the entry for today. Consistency is something that I always struggle with, occasionally. I am pretty good with being consistent, but I'm also consistently missing a day or two here and there. Not very good. But today's entry talked about the how to fix it or to find what we need to find in order to be spiritually consistent...

"Most of us are not consistent spiritually because we are more concerned about being consistent externally. In the external expression of things, Paul lived in the basement, while his critics lived on the upper level. And these two levels do not begin to touch each other. But Paul's consistency was the agony of God in the redemption of the world, namely, the Cross of Christ."

When I read that, I think about all of the times that I am inconsistent externally and that directly correlates to my spiritual consistency. And then I look at Paul. He lived in a basement, he wasn't treated the best lets just say. Yet he was so solid. Now obviously that's a huge understatement but I know I will remember this part about Paul living in the basement. His external wasn't the best, but that doesn't mean his internal can't be phenomenal or rather, consistent. I also think back to a post I did a little while ago about emotions. Just because I don't feel like doing something doesn't mean I shouldn't do it. I think back to the times when I wasn't allowed to get out of my room until it was clean. Sometimes I don't feel like loving my mom or dad or I didn't feel like cleaning, but ya know what? My mom didn't care how I felt. I was cleaning my room whether I wanted to or not. And I will never forget when my mom would tell me all the time, "I know you don't feel like doing it, but those are the hardest times and the times you need to do it the most." And now being 22, a soon-to-be college graduate, I realize all of the things I will have to do when I don't "feel like it." It's crazy to even think about the next phase of life that I'm in, but I'm ready for the challenge. My parents and life experiences have taught me well, so I'm ready.
So here's to the challenge of spiritual consistency. It's a fight; a fight we can win, if we just look to the foundation of our beliefs - the Cross of Christ.

"God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ..."
Galatians 6:14

To God be the Glory