“You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48 Amplified Bible)
Trend lines are used by technical analysts, trading security specialists, and thinkers who track something mathematically to determine a general direction that which is taking place. I’m sure you have seen trend lines being used to track the inclines and declines of the pandemic we are facing today on the local or national news. You notice that on the nifty and neat visual presentations trend lines, used to help us picture the crisis clearly, there are some high points, some low points, and some points that stay in the same spot, a status quo so to speak, for the chosen interval of measurement (i.e. daily, monthly, quarterly, etc.). For a while, as it relates to the Covid-19 virus, the trend line was escalating. After some special and surely needed intervention, and I will add to government and scientific innovation something not mentioned on the news, some Sovereign intervention; the trend line was basically going downward. In the latter situation, still there were some days where the graph would peak, days when it would go unchanged, and days when it dropped drastically, a positive thing in the case of the virus.
However, if you were to draw, in your mind, a trend line, analyzing your living as a Christian in general, or for any specific aspect of being a Christian, such as praying, the time spent daily in the word, or the consistency in fulfilling that which you have committed to do – being a follower of Christ, it is only a positive thing when the trend line is upward, not downward. Yes, picture the graph in your mind. Like me and like others, I’m sure you will see some points where you had high marks, some points that never changed, and being truthful, some points would be marked on the graph where you did not do so good. In regard to the latter, we all have our good days and our bad days. We all have days in which we show apathy towards the stated principles of God, attitudes that don’t agree with being a child of God, and anxious days where we did not deal with our stress in the right way; did not carry our cares to the Lord, cast them on Him, knowing He cares for us. The graphs of our lives would show some down trends for sure. Yes, you know it! We got angry and made it worst by letting the sun go down on our anger. Those are just some examples of our low points on our personal graphs. Thank God for helping us, for being loving, forgiving, and merciful on such days. Thank God for His goodness! Thank God that He brought us to our senses, put us in our right minds, and impacted our trend lines in a positive way!
Hopefully, when you draw your trend line, the direction will be upward because you took His help. Hopefully, your trend lines will show that you are making perfect progress because you focused on the fact that the Lord has for sure been do good to you, regardless of what was happening! Hopefully, your trend line doesn’t show a downward trend, a trend which may indicate some falling away or imply that improvement is drastically needed before you have repeated failings! If you see a downward trend at any time, and our interval of measurement is “all times,” then you need to call on the Lord! Cry out to Him for intervention and for his incomparable help to change the course of your trend line! Why? For your own good! Yet not only for your good, but for the good of others who need to know life is better when you belong to the Lord. Trend lines track upward when you trust in the Lord. Get serious now. Do your imaginary trend line today. You don’t have to share it with anyone. The One who is most concerns, He knows all things already. Have fun! Press upward! Pray as you press on! Persistently and relentlessly, go through this day and every day reaching to higher ground! Speaking of higher ground, check the word from the old hymn below. I always think of my Granddaddy when I hear it, but I also think of my Daddy in Glory, God Himself! Be blessed!
“I’m pressing on the upward way, new heights I’m gaining every day; still praying as I’m onward bound, ‘Lord, plant my feet on higher ground.’”
Still committed to the climb,
Mark L. King