Good Monday morning! Three days left in 2008; what last minute rushing about do we need to do before the new year starts? I think that I will pass on the rushing about this time. Today the thought came to me that this life is not an easy journey. Look at Pastor Rogers' devotional this morning. We have heard this one before, and I have written on the same subject. Focus on the goal. Okay, that's sounds great, but what about the other stuff? I look at a pile of bills on my desk and realize that focusing on the goal will not make them go away. In the first century, the church at Thessaloniki (I hope I spelled that one correctly) heard that Jesus would return soon and did what any of us might be tempted to do... they quit their jobs, shouted "Hallelujah" and divorced themselves from the world. We are told the same thing they were told, Jesus is coming soon. However, Paul had to tell them that "soon" might not be in their lifetime and that they should get back to work. I suspect Paul might have sympathized with them a bit and even entertained a regret or two in having to write that command.
We all yearn for the day that Jesus will return, but the everyday things continue to press upon us. Creditors and utilities will not drop their charges because Jesus is returning soon, they must feed their families too. I was thinking today that perhaps some of my pile could be reduced by focusing on the goal. If God has called me to do X, do I need to have Y in my life. In other words, how can I simplify my situation in order to focus more on the goal toward which I run the race? The cares of this life cannot simply be ignored. Like the runner in Paul's letter, we have our eyes on the prize, but we still feel the pain of straining muscles as we run the race.
Another take on this whole thing is faith. God sees the pile of bills too; we cannot forget that God knows our needs better than we do. In a time of recession, we often think of reductions and simplifications to reduce expenses. This may be something that is needed, but I am also reminded of the weight loss wisdom of not so long ago. As a young man in the Marines, the prevailing wisdom for losing weight was to eat less and exercise more. An unfortunate side effect of near starvation dieting is that your body reacts by slowing down the metabolism, thus sabotaging the very effort your are engaged in. Those of us put on diets in boot camp soon found ourselves unable to keep up in anything, much less the physical training. Years later the prevailing weight loss wisdom had turned about and we are told to eat more often and make better choices to control our weight. Of course eating more often does not mean eating all the fat and sweet stuff all day; calories/portions/servings/points etc. are all still important to the overall effort.
In our efforts to run the race or improve our lives, we are often like the sailors of old who would rush to lighten the ship at the first sign of trouble. Throwing all the stores overboard might make it difficult to find anything to eat when the storm has passed. Sorry for the pause, I am working over my desk to fix a nagging problem. There, that seems to have firmed up the keyboard shelf. The teapot should be whistling soon, I need to wrap this up. Trusting in Jesus when the storm is raging can be difficult, but we must learn to trust at the darkest of times in order to have His peace in our hearts.
Trusting always in the one who died to save us, and having a great day in Christ!
Bucky
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