A Spiritual Walk-Around

Sometimes the things that need our attention begin quietly. A small change in attitude, a little less time in prayer, or a heart that has become distracted can tell us something about our spiritual condition.

 Today, we’re going to talk about the value of occasionally stopping, looking carefully at our hearts, and inviting God to show us what may need His attention.

 So, join me as we consider what I call “A Spiritual Walk-Around.”

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The Prattville family meets at 344 East Main Street, Prattville, AL.  Our web site is: https://prattvillechurch.org.  

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Hello friends. Welcome to Walking with Our Master. I'm your host, Dave Leighton. Whether you're starting your morning or winding down your evening, let's take a few moments to center our hearts on some thoughts about what really matters. There are some things we do so often that we hardly think about them anymore. Doesn't make them bad, it's just the way we do. They simply become part of our routine. For example, whenever Miss Lynn and I travel in our RV, I have some of those routines. Even before I start the truck, and especially before we pull out for a trip, I take a walk around the RV. I'm looking for anything that doesn't seem right and to make sure everything is ready to travel. And when we stop somewhere, whether for a rest stop, gas, and especially for the night after we've been traveling for several hours, I do it again. It doesn't take very long. I look at the tires. I make sure everything looks secure. I check the electric connections if we're hooked up. I look around the campsite to make sure nothing has been left lying around. And sooner or later my eyes usually find their way underneath the RV. I'm looking for anything that shouldn't be there. Maybe a loose wire, something hanging down, or perhaps a puddle. Now if you own an RV, you learn fairly quickly that seeing water underneath one doesn't necessarily mean you have a problem. Sometimes it's simply condensation from the air conditioner. But sometimes a puddle means something else, and that's why I look. Experience has taught me that small problems have a way of becoming much larger problems when we ignore them. A little leak today can become a major repair tomorrow. A tire that looks slightly low while we're sitting in the campground can become a serious problem once we're traveling sixty miles an hour down the highway. A connection that has begun working loose may eventually come apart completely. So I take a few minutes to walk around. The interesting thing is I don't do that because I expect to find something wrong. Most of the time everything is fine. I do it because I want to enjoy the journey with confidence. Those few minutes aren't an interruption in the trip. They're part of taking care of what carries us along the way. And recently, as I finished one of those walk arounds, a thought came to me. I wonder if I give my heart the same kind of attention. I wonder how often I take a spiritual walk around. Life has a way of becoming routine. We get up in the morning, we have breakfast, we check our calendars, we go to work or volunteer or take care of the house, run errands, answer emails, keep appointments, spend time with family, and do whatever else the day requires. And then we go to bed. And the next morning we get up and do it all again. Now there's something comforting about routine. Good routines help us accomplish important things. Many of the healthiest habits in our lives grow out of the things we have learned to do consistently. But routine can also make it easy for us to stop paying attention. We can become so accustomed to moving through life that we assume everything is simply fine because everything looks normal. And that can happen spiritually as well. We attend worship, we read our Bible, we pray, we serve, we help others. Those are great things. We may even teach Bible class or lead ministries, we encourage people, or spend a great deal of our time doing things connected with the Lord's work. From the outside everything may appear to be running smoothly. The scripture encourages us to look a little deeper. In Proverbs 423, Solomon said, Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flows the springs of life. I love the picture contained in that verse. Keep your heart. Well, that means to guard it, to pay attention to it, to watch over it carefully. And Solomon tells us why. For from it flows the springs of life. In other words, what is happening within us eventually flows into the rest of our life. Our words flow from there, our attitudes, our priorities flow from there, and our relationships are affected by what happens there, and our decisions are certainly influenced from our heart. Even the way we see other people is affected by the condition of our hearts. Jesus said something similar when he explained that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. That's in Matthew 12, 34. So what comes out of us often tells something about what has been happening within us. That's why keeping or guarding our hearts deserves our attention. Sometimes the first indication that something needs attention isn't dramatic. It's something small. Perhaps we've become a little more impatient. Maybe criticism seems to come more easily than encouragement. Or perhaps we're carrying a resentment that we've allowed to remain longer than we should have allowed it. Maybe worry has become slowly replacing trust. Prayer can become hurried. Scripture has become something we read rather than something that we allow to shape us. Worship may even become familiar, and gratitude doesn't come quite as naturally as it once did. Now none of those things has to become a reason for discouragement. They can become invitations. They can be little indicators that remind us that it might be time for a spiritual walk around. And that's really what I'm doing when I walk around the RV. I'm paying attention. I'm asking in a very practical way, is there something here that needs attention before we continue the journey? Maybe there's a pretty good reason for our spiritual lives as well. Is there anything in my heart that needs attention as I continue walking with the master? The question is different than simply asking what am I doing wrong? Sometimes spiritual self-examination gets reduced to looking for failures. We begin making a mental list. Did I do this? Did I avoid that? Did I fulfill this responsibility? Did I make some mistake? Well, those questions have value, but guarding our hearts goes deeper. A spiritual walk around asks questions like, Lord, is there anything developing within me that is affecting my walk with you? And sometimes in the busyness of serving the master, we need to remember the joy of simply walking with our master. There's another important lesson I've learned from walking around the RV. I can only see what I know to look for. I know where the tires are. I know where the electrical connections are. I know where certain drains are located. I know some of the places where problems might appear, but I don't know everything. There could be something developing that I haven't noticed. That brings me to one of my favorite prayers in Scripture. In Psalm 139, verses twenty three and twenty four, David prayed, Search me, O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts, and see if there is any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. By the way, that's the same David who wrote the Psalm 51, where he said, Create in me a new heart. David knew the importance of the condition of his heart. But in Psalm 139, verses 23 and 24, notice what David does. He invites God into the examination. Search me, he says. That's a courageous prayer. David understands that God may see something that he has overlooked. And that's where spiritual examination becomes more than introspection. We're inviting the one who knows us completely, the one who created us to help us see clearly. He said, Search me, O God. That's not a casual observation. That means to get out the magnifying glass, open my heart up and look. Search me, O God. Maybe that's a prayer we could begin praying regularly. There's something else I want us to remember. When I walk around the RV, I'm doing it because I care about the RV. I want to make sure that I take good care of it. I want it to continue carrying us safely down the road. In an even greater way, when we invite God to search our hearts, we're placing ourselves before someone who loves us. God already knows what's there. We aren't giving him new information. We're allowing him to show us what he already sees. And when he brings something to our attention, his purpose is to draw us closer to him. Those moments of examination become moments of grace. God shows us what needs attention while it can still be addressed. And that brings me back to those little puddles underneath the RV. When I see one, I don't immediately assume disaster, but I certainly investigate. Is it simply condensation? Or is something leaking? Does it need my attention? Maybe we can learn to look at some of the little warning signs in our spiritual lives the same way. The warning sign can become an invitation to draw closer to God. That's why a spiritual walk around can become one of the healthiest practices in our walk with Christ. We pause, we pay attention, we invite God to search us, and then we allow Him to lead us. David's prayer did not end at search me. It ended with lead me in the way everlasting. That's the goal. The examination serves the journey. We're asking God to help us keep walking in the right direction. So the next time you walk around your car, your truck, your RV, or even just around your house, checking to make sure everything is secure. Maybe let it remind you of something. Take a moment for a spiritual walk around. Ask yourself, how is my heart? What has been flowing from it lately? And then perhaps pray David's prayer. Search me, O God, and know my heart. And then we listen. We allow him to strengthen what has become weak or correct what has begun moving in the wrong direction, or strengthen when we're moving in the right direction. And as we walk with our master today, let's remember the wisdom of Solomon. Keep your heart with all vigilance, and for from it flows the springs of life. Faithfulness is often open to paying attention to the little things. A few quiet moments spent guarding our hearts today may help us walk more closely with our master tomorrow. Well thanks for listening today as together we walk with our master. Please join us again next week as we continue seeking truth, growing in faith, and getting back to what really matters.