“Have you found pleasure sweet like honey? Eat only as much as is sufficient for you, lest, being filled with it, you vomit it.”

Proverbs 25:16 AMPC

Hey Reader,

Many years ago, I heard of a minister who said something that has stayed with me ever since. She said, “Only enjoy as much natural pleasure as you can spiritually afford.”

I’ve always found it interesting to observe what people value in the natural. What one person considers worth spending thousands on, another might not value at all. For example, someone might spend a pretty penny on a new pair of sneakers but would never consider spending thousands on a perfume. Yet another person might spend thousands on perfume while wearing the same sneakers they’ve had for the last four years.

People are willing to pay for what they value.

But have you ever considered that the same principle applies to your spiritual life?

You often hear people talking about how much they desire a move of the Spirit. They want another revival, a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit, more of God’s anointing and a greater manifestation of His power in their lives. Yet, at the same time, you hear people say, “God isn’t speaking to me,” or, “If He is speaking, I can’t hear Him.”

But Reader, if you’re born again, the Spirit of God lives on the inside of you. You belong to Him, and Jesus said something very clear in John 10:27:

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.”

Read that again. My sheep hear My voice.

So if you’re struggling to hear His voice, let’s allow the Holy Spirit to show us what might be getting in the way.

Reader, we live in a world full of noise. Think about it. It’s the series and movies available on streaming services. It’s the videos you can mindlessly scroll through for an hour and a half before going to sleep. It’s the music playing everywhere you go, from the shops to the restaurants and shopping centres.

There’s always something competing for your attention.

And while there’s nothing inherently wrong with every movie, song or social media platform, we need to be honest about what we’re allowing into our lives and how much of our time we’re giving it.

Your flesh thrives on noise, busyness and constant stimulation. But you also need to make room for stillness, quietness and time alone with God.

Look at Jesus. Mark 1:35 says:

“Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.”

Jesus deliberately withdrew to a solitary place to pray. He made time to be alone with His Father.

If Jesus made time to withdraw from the noise and pray, how much more should we recognise the importance of making time for God in our own lives?

Reader, I desire above all that you prosper, even as your soul prospers. But we need to pay attention to what we’re feeding our souls. We cannot continually fill our minds with things that distract us from God and then wonder why we’re struggling to give Him our attention.

So let me ask you something.

What has the Holy Spirit been showing you as you’ve been reading this letter?

Is there an area of your life where you’ve been giving too much of your time and attention to things that are leaving you spiritually distracted? Is there something you’ve allowed into your routine that has been taking time away from the Word, prayer and fellowship with God?

It might not even be a sin. But it could still be a weight that’s slowing you down and keeping you from running your race effectively.

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to lay aside every weight and the sin that so easily ensnares us, so that we can run with endurance the race set before us.

Notice that Scripture speaks about both sin and weight. Not everything that slows you down is necessarily sinful. But if something is consistently taking your attention away from what God has called you to do, it’s worth examining.

So here’s what I want you to do this week.

Start by drowning out some of the noise.

If you’re spending hours watching series, consider limiting yourself to one movie a week, perhaps on a Friday evening. If you’re constantly scrolling through social media, put some boundaries in place and limit your time on those apps.

Then take the time you’ve freed up and invest it in your spiritual life.

Double up your time in the Word. Double up your time praying in tongues. Double up your time in worship. Make room to sit quietly in God’s presence and allow Him to speak to your heart.

Don’t just remove something from your routine. Replace it with something that will strengthen your walk with God.

And give yourself to it consistently for the next seven days. Pay attention to what changes in your focus, your sensitivity to the Holy Spirit and your discipline in the things of God.

Paul told Timothy to give himself entirely to these things so that his progress would be evident to all. That’s found in 1 Timothy 4:15.

Your spiritual growth should not remain invisible forever. As you give yourself to the Word and prayer, there should be progress in your life that becomes evident.

Brother Kenneth E. Hagin used to say that the two ways he knew to increase the anointing were by spending time in the Word and in prayer.

So, Reader, don’t complicate this. Give yourself more fully to the Word. Give yourself more fully to prayer. Be intentional about the time you spend with God.

Remember what that minister said: “Only enjoy as much natural pleasure as you can spiritually afford.”

The question isn’t whether you can afford something financially. It’s whether you’re giving so much of yourself to it that your spiritual life is paying the price.

What are you willing to give up so that you can give more of yourself to God?

This week, I want to leave you with what Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote to Timothy:

“Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.”

1 Timothy 4:12–16 NKJV

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