Landing on the Ground

I have always considered myself a country girl stuck in the city. And in pursuit of my passions for the country when I moved here, I decided to take horseback riding lessons in the attempt of learning how to ride a horse. Instead of learning to ride a horse with a saddle, I soon found myself riding bareback. I quickly learned that my body had to be in direct rhythm of the horse in almost one fluid motion, otherwise I would very quickly be tasting dust and gasping for breath on the ground, which I experienced one too many times. As soon as I would start focusing on myself instead of the horse, I would get out of synch and end up on the ground. I find myself learning the same lesson when it comes to my relationship with God. I become too comfortable in my relationship with the Lord. I get out of synch and let things slip. I start focusing on myself instead of Him, and start to believe the lie that I can do it all by myself, because things seem to be going so well. But, I soon land on the ground and am quickly reminded of my complete and utter dependence on the Lord for everything. I’m so thankful for God’s grace, that even when I mess up, he still forgives. I’m so thankful that even though we don’t deserve it, he freely gives it to us, helping us up, restoring us to himself, and loving us beyond anything we can think or imagine. In Ex 15:2 it reads, “The LORD is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation. He is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him.”

Intentional Living

Have you ever been lost? I have gotten lost so many times that I have actually become good at getting unlost! I often take wrong turns, wrong exits and the wrong way. For many different reasons as well, sometimes I'm distracted, sometimes I'm talking, and sometimes the wrong way just seems and looks right. One time I dropped off a girl from church at her house and she gave me different directions back the freeway. It sounded easy enough so I thought I should try it. Over two hours later I found myself still driving around in circles and very quickly running out of gas. I usually have no problem stopping and asking for directions but it was a Sunday afternoon and no one was outside and there were no gas stations. I was trying not to panic yet I was running out of options and the feeling of desperation was starting to engulf me. I finally found someone mowing their lawn that was able to tell me how to get back to the freeway, after many prayers and searching, it was a great relief. The funny thing was, from where I was driving, I could see the freeway miles away down the hill, I just could not get there; no matter which road I took, I was still driving in circles. I think that we often "forget" what it feels to be "spiritually" lost and because we forget we have lost our sense of urgency to reach others for Christ. God has called each and every one of us to tell others about Jesus Christ, and has placed us in different life circumstances in which to fulfill his purpose for our lives whether we are stay-at-home moms, nurses, teachers, lawyers or bus drivers. We need to live our lives intentionally, remembering that we are on a mission, remembering that there are so many around us who are lost often seeking someone who can tell them how to get back to the freeway. Many are running out of gas and their time is short. There are many opportunities, we must be looking, seeking and be ready when they come. We can't let the busyness of life get in the way. As 1 Peter 3:15 reads, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have." And as Christ commanded in Matthew 28:19 when He said, "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit" How will they know, unless we go, how will they know, unless we tell them there is hope, and there is a God who loves them so much, that He sent his one and only Son to die for them in their place." We must live intentially.

"Everyday there are people,
From this land and this nation
Crying to a god who can't hear them
Dying for a god who can't save them.
How will they know?
That there's a God who knows their name
How will they know?
That Christ has made a way for them to be saved.
How will they know?
Unless we go."

An Eternal Perspective

This may be confusing, but I'm going to try to communicate my thoughts as clearly as possible.
To some Ecclesiastes is a very negative and discouraging book. But for me it has always been encouraging. Why? The wisest man to ever live displays the greatest example of having an eternal perspective. He had everything the world had to offer riches, love, wealth, possessions, power etc. yet he realized that without God, it was all worthless. The life here on earth is short, and unless we plug into God’s plan will we find purpose to all that is “under the Sun.” In 2 Cor 4:18 Paul writes, “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” What is an eternal perspective? It is not looking at life’s circumstances and life in general just in the “right here and right now” but looking at it in the light of eternity. When I really dwell upon having an eternal perspective, I realize how differently my prayers become. Instead of praying to get married, I then pray for the Lord to bring into my life whatever is necessary to accomplish his purpose and to bring others to Christ. Instead of praying for the situations in my life to get better, I pray that I will learn the lesson that I need to learn to become who God needs me to be to accomplish His will. Having an eternal perspective focuses our attention on God and his plan instead of our temporary dreams, desires and circumstances. Often times we do not understand what God is up to, or what he has in store for our life, and we never know what tomorrow holds, however we can pray that God will use us, and we can prepare out heart and our minds to be willing to go and do whatever God calls us to do, so that we can be used by God to accomplish his purpose for our lives.