Sometimes you wake up at 6 am feeling SUPER annoyed and ungrateful for a place to live (what?!yep. I'm a brat) because that place to live is a super old complex in which you can hear every single bone in every single toe through every. single. stinking. floorboard. as your upstairs neighbors saunter through the kitchen; surely heards of elephants live there and not possibly two humans.
and so I sit, so annoyed and tired from staying up too late watching Revenge with my roomie and I brainstorm how to tell my property manager about this ridiculous elephant-human and their ridiculous noise.
and luckily for me, the Lord intercedes. He knows my weakness and tiredness are taking over and so He stops me. And points me to Himself.
child, if you'd only realize the
precious time this allows us to talk
about the huge things you're needing
to talk to Me about and really, really
trust Me with right now.
so I sit, begrudgingly, shamefully knowing He's right. Of course He is. He knows my heart. And luckily He always steps in.
But I think this moment could've just as easily gone the other way. I could've chosen to stay right where my flesh had won and I had put myself: annoyed. Frustrated. Bitter. So annoyed. Tired. Weak. But the Lord gave me a choice and I took it. And He used that choice to strengthen, encourage, inspire, support and uplift me. Things I so desperately needed but couldn't see because I clouded my judgment and crowded-buried- myself with thoughts of frustration. [Not that the Lord wouldn't have supported and loved and lifted me if I hadn't chosen to turn to him-- but that I would've missed it. He's constantly showering me (and you!) with affection and gentle whisperings but I'm constantly missing them.] How often do I do that?! I am drowning in fear, worry, anger, sadness, confusion... When the answer and solution that brings peace, joy, light and life is literally right. there. Waiting. Patiently waiting for me to take hold of all these things He's laid out for me. But I've got to choose them. And that's tough. We can so easily succumb to the flesh (in fact, that's our natural instinct) but we must fight. We must choose to fight. We must choose to see the Spirit in those moments saying "go there" or more often for me, "don't go there". Don't let yourself go to that annoyed posture. It's not worth the time. It's not worth the pain. And if you choose not to, just wait and see what the Lord has for you instead. I promise you better. I promise you it's more.
[sometimes that "more" comes in the form of a Dunkin Donuts iced coffee that you didn't think you'd have time to get in the morning. Yes, it's 8 degrees and I'm drinking it. It tastes so much better iced. Trust me.]
I was trying to discover times in the Bible when people like me did silly human things, like ignore what was right in front of us and miss the beauty God had for us, because we were too consumed with ourselves. And I think, scarily, unfortunately, there's more stories than we want to realize because it's one of the easiest ways to separate ourselves from God. The most obvious and easy answer is the story of Adam and Eve. Don't think I need to explain that one. [but I will since I like to write and this is a blog so there can't really be complaints of how long I write, right?!] They literally had everything they needed- were living in perfection and paradise. And yet, the enemy crept in. Slithering, sliming his way in like he always does. And started to whisper and seduce and charm and rot away and steal from what the Lord had promised. The enemy spoke doubt into our assurance; uncertainty into our certainty; pestilence into our unblemished crop; he was able to find things we didn't even know we doubted or were unsure of and he exploited every last inch of those. That snake made us question the One who made us and gave everything to us, the One who lavished us in love and adoration. The One who clearly displayed His love, majesty, glory, tender care and wonder. And yet... all it took was one choice. Choosing to succumb. Choosing to listen to that voice.. "There's more. Go there."
But that more is a lie. It is corruption. It is destruction to your very core. It is being thrown out of paradise; out of perfection; no longer being able to see and taste and experience the Lord as He created us to. That "more" is so enticing and so shiny and exciting-- I get it. I truly do. I've been there. I've fallen for it. But I promise you, when you get to the end of that more, guess what you'll be wanting? Craving? Needing?
More.
And you'll never have enough. As Andy Stanley says, "that's the thing about appetites. They only know two words: "now" and "more," and that more always leaves you feeling empty and unsatisfied."
Yes, that more seems so enticing and fulfilling and promising. But what could be more enticing and fulfilling and promising than standing on the One who has already completely fulfilled you? The One who has already promised you so MUCH more. The One who knows what you need and has prepared it for you in advance if you would only choose to walk in it.
So friends, let's choose to not just ignore, but squash the voice of the enemy. As Louie Giglio said, "we can cut off the head of the snake, but he can still bite. He can still talk." So we need to choose to proclaim the Lord's promises, faithfulness and beauty over the voice that speaks false hope, empty promises and faithless nights.
[quotes from Andy Stanley's sermon on Appetites (not sure title of sermon or date, he's given this talk lot but it's really good) and Louie Giglio's sermon from "Goliath Must Fall" in summer 2014 paraphrased. Go watch them online. Really really powerful.]
[this book, The Best Yes by Lysa Terkheurst, is literally a biography. Mine. It's about my life. Y'all, I'm only two chapters in and it's already changed my life drastically. Everyone needs to read it. Now. So many good nuggets discovered already that I couldn't even decide which was best to share. So I'll share lots 😁 then you'll see how badly you need to go get it. I'll buy it for you if you want. Seriously. It's incredible.]
No comments:
Post a Comment