Have you ever planned your day? You have everything lined up exactly in a way that should make everything go smoothly. But then things start happening and your day is falling apart. It can be so frustrating. It may be so disastrous that you don’t even want to start another day.
I work at a print shop and run the digital. We often have a two-sided card, flyer, postcard, etc. to print. Most of the paper I run is too heavy to duplex. Besides, it takes longer to print when you duplex. So I run one side at a time. Now when you are setting up for printing it is very important that you have a gutter and crop marks. This makes it a lot easier for the guys that have to cut things out. We may be printing a sheet of business cards 20 up on a sheet and they need to have the marks to know where to cut.
Once I am done printing the first side I take the paper and replace it back in the drawer for printing the second side. You start by printing one so you can check to make sure you put the paper incorrectly. You don’t want the picture on the second side to be upside down. On the most part I know, now, how to put the paper in so it is rarely put in the wrong. There are exceptions when designs are out of the ordinary.
The other thing that I am looking for is to see if my gutter and crop marks are aligned. I take a utility knife and cut the crop mark on the front and look at the back and see if it came through at the crop mark on the back. If not there is a problem. If I sent it back for the guys to cut without it being aligned right there would be things cut off the back side that should not be cut off. It may cut off words, pictures, logos, etc and it would not be acceptable to the client.
If my crop marks are not aligned I have to go onto my computer and make some adjustments until they are perfectly aligned.
It made me start to think about our spiritual lives. We need to be aligned with God. I picture myself on one side of the picture and Jesus and His Word on the other side. The gutter and crop marks need to be aligned. If they are not then I need to do some adjusting in my life. When I am adjusting the alignment in the print shop sometimes it takes a couple or more times to get it just right. I think in our spiritual walk it is the same way. We do some adjusting in our lives thinking that we are aligned but then we realize we need even more adjusting. In our walk with God, we will be always adjusting as we learn more and more.
In the print shop if I were to send something back to the cutters to cut without those gutters and crop marks it can be disastrous. But a lot of times they can cut things out if they realize to start with that they are not aligned. It takes painstaking time and a lot of times the objects may end up a little smaller than planned. In our spiritual lives if we don’t stay aligned with God He works to reach our hearts with means that may not be so pleasant. There will be a cutting away process that is painful. And we may come out a little “smaller” than if we would have chosen His route to start with. There will be wounds that He wanted us to be able to avoid. But often we go on in our stubborn ways and think we know better.
The question is, “how do I get aligned with God?” It starts with having a relationship with Him. We can’t get to know someone and build a relationship with him or her without spending time. We need to spend time with God so that we can get to know Him. We need to spend time in His Word and in prayer with Him. Prayer is a two-way conversation. We often pour our hearts out to God but we forget to be silent and listen.
- Spend time in His Word with much prayer. Reading God’s Word is the way to get to know Him. I recently ran across some information that I believe can be helpful to you on how to study your Bible. This can make it easy and fun. It is “How to Study the Bible With the 5RS Method”, by Alicia Michelle.
- Read the verse. This is pretty simple you just read whatever verse you have picked out. I think starting with the book of Proverbs may be a good place to start. Pick a chapter and go for it, starting with one verse each day.
- Rewrite the verse. Then you write it down.
- Restate the verse. Here you will restate the verse using different words that still convey the same message. You are just expressing it in a different way that may make it more meaningful to you. You can do this by taking each of the words and finding synonyms.
- Relate the verse. Take a moment and really think about what this verse is about and how it can apply to your life. What are you learning in this verse that you want to put in action?
- Respond to the verse. This area involves prayer. Responding to the verse through prayer. Asking God’s help with what action you want to make in changing your life.
These are some easy things we can do that can help us get aligned with God. As we learn and follow what the Lord teaches us we will grow in Him.
Dear Father,
As we study Your Word send Your Spirit to enlighten our hearts. Convict us on what changes we need to make so that we can be aligned with You. Thank You for Your love and forgiveness.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Get into the Word today. Make it a daily habit. You will draw closer to Him and be aligned with Him as You study the light and take heed to the light.
Love you all.
What is your method of connecting with God and becoming more aligned to Him?