Marinating…but in What?
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success.” Joshua 1:8 (ESV)
Preparation is always a vital instrument. Our ability to successfully outwit the adversary is dependent upon our “spiritual marinating sauce”. It is imperative that we sensor the type of “marinating mixture” that our spirit man is being exposed to on a regular basis. Today, as never before, it is essential that we are ever cautious and remain on our guard concerning the types of material that we are constantly permitting to enter through our ear and eye gates. Far too often we are permitting our spirits to be marinated with; and to become saturated with the concepts of this world – without our knowledge. However, if we maintain the proper relationship with the Lord, He will always alert us to the ploys of the enemy.
Don’t permit your spirit to become desensitized to what God has established as our foundational principles and guidelines. With the advancements in technology, we have the ability to have God inspired material at our disposal as often as we desire. Therefore, it is our responsibility to “choose” what we will permit our spirits to bask, soak…… marinate in.
When we refer to marinating; we can envision the preparation of various meats prior to cooking them. The purpose of marinating is to permit a substance to penetrate and infiltrate the meat. The longer the marinating process; the better the end result will be.
Marinating is simply resting in the presence of the Lord. When one is marinating; they aren’t asking God for anything – just resting in His presence and permitting Him to penetrate and infiltrate their spirit man.
We are all marinating in something – but to what advantage will be the benefit? Remember what happened to Sampson when he became too comfortable and began to permit his spirit to marinate in the enemy’s camp. We must always remain alert, and have an open ear to hear the warnings of the Lord; if we are going to maintain our stamina in this race. Our every encounter with the enemy has been strategically planned by him. However when we have permitted our spirits to baste in the presence of the Lord; we can be assured that He will give us the necessary wisdom, power and authority to successfully outwit and discern every diabolical maneuver. If we are going to stay at least a step or two ahead of our adversary – we must be on our alert at all times. Everything that is a “good” thing may not be a “God” thing!
In other words, we of our own accord can’t possibly be aware of every current device that the enemy will use in an attempt to bring defeat and or demise to God’s plan of action for us. Nevertheless, when we begin to marinate in the presence of the Lord, we will have the ability to maintain a conscious awareness of Him (God) at all times. Then we will hear His warnings as He alerts us to every potentially adverse situation.
Yes… preparation is vital. Remember, marinating is a preparatory process. It is a current procedure, whose results will assure us of our future success. The problem is not “if” we are marinating…. But “what” we are using as our marinating agent.
“I will meditate on your precepts and fix my eyes on your ways.” Psalm 119:15 ESV
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