Aspiration – noun

Personal definition

a hope or ambition of achieving something.

the object of one’s hope or ambition; a goal.

Medical definition

the action or process of drawing breath.

Psalm 150:6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.

I was thinking about inspiration just now and aspiration came to mind. What do the two have to do with each other? For me both come from the same source. God gave me life, He breathed life into me. I have a hope, an ambition, a goal which is not based to personal definitions but rather by the Word of God.

The dictionary separates the two definitions with distinction. I do not. I could but I chose not to do that. I praise God for every breath I take, every hope, every promise, and every thought which leads me closer to Him. Separation, division, is devil’s work.

It is easy to be inspired by the world. Our lives are filled with images and sounds that reflect the aspirations of others. It is easy to be inspired by human feats, the deeds of the flesh.

Being inspired by the Holy Spirit is a whole different matter. It is a combination of humility and submission. Replacing my great idea with His will for me in any moment takes both of those things. Sure I have great ideas. Who is to be praised if I choose my idea over His inspiration? There is a reason that Psalm 150:6 says “let”. It is a choice of my own to make in praising God rather than self.

God gives us free will to choose how we aspire. 

Genesis 4:7b And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.

If you read yesterday’s devotional you might have noticed I left out this line from verse 7. I did so for two reasons. The first is in service to all my readers. I do not know everyone, their relationship with the Lord, their depth of knowledge in the Word, the sermons they might have heard on this subject, or what was covered. The second is because it could be a distraction from the lesson given. Distractions are one of Satan’s tools, and I did not want anyone to fall into that trap.

Should I address this portion of scripture as a lesson just because I intentionally left it out? Am I obliged to teach on it? Is there enough interest to warrant further investigation? If so, what approach should I take?

When a matter is not evidently clear, I like to step back away from my feeling in the moment and look at it. Give it respect.

I would approach the matter as a most learned theologian advised. Examine the scripture from this point of view. Who is talking? Who is listening? What are the circumstances? Anything that you conclude from that conversation should apply directly to those points or you are likely to encounter error.

Secondly do your conclusions align themselves with what happens next? If a line of reasoning is to be reasonable, it must follow the continuing scriptures with clarity and not bring further ambiguity.

This being said, the next line of scripture should be seen as a goal line to cross in drawing those conclusions.

Genesis 4:8 And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.

Begin your study. Good luck.