All month we have been addressing the IMPERATIVE—what must be done– for Christians to fully RELEASE CONTROL of their life to Jesus by immersing themselves in God’s Word and then: Repenting; Trusting; Committing; and Praying.
Difficult? It certainly was for me early in my faith walk. That’s when I stacked the deck AGAINST myself by allowing an ugly yellow chair to CONTROL my life.
I learned about YELLOW CHAIRS from my engineer father while growing up in the suburban idyll of San Francisco’s East Bay with Leave It To Beaver, men walking on the moon, 30-cent gasoline, and an invasion of Beatles in America.
Dad used the term any time a person was falling short of their potential. The story always started with someone who inherited grandma’s ugly yellow chair which made decorating a room to its full potential impossible because it dictates everything and ruins it all.
SPIRITUAL YELLOW CHAIRS are those things we “decorate around” that keep our walk with Christ from being fully surrendered to his purpose. Among many other things, spiritual yellow chairs are the habits, sins, fears, attitudes, doubts, addictions, behaviors, and false narratives playing in our head.
But there is a HUGE DISTINCTION that makes spiritual yellow chairs more than life’s “expected challenges.” They become yellow chairs after we give them “PERMANENT” residence.
GOD’S ANTIDOTE IS A SURPRISE!
The process of destroying our SPIRITUAL YELLOW CHAIRS does NOT include dynamite. Does NOT include an execution. Does NOT include a trip to the dump. None of that. Just two steps:
ONE: ESTABLISH A SPIRITUAL FOUNDATION
The first step to leaving spiritual yellow chairs in the rear-view mirror comes from establishing spiritual discipline and intimacy with Christ on a consistent basis, day in and day out.
TWO: SURRENDER THE CHAIR SPECIFICALLY
The surrender of our yellow chair must be specific and not bundled with others in a generic prayer that asks God to “forgive me for ALL my…”
Then we begin praying for protection that our spiritual yellow chair never comes out of storage.
I ask God to search my heart and remove the spiritual yellow chairs in my life. To Give me the strength I need to draw closer and closer to you.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
What is your spiritual yellow chair? What are you decorating around in your walk with God?
“You will never succeed in life if you try to hide your sins. Confess them and give them up. Then God will show mercy to you.” Proverbs 28:13
