No, today's devotional is not about weight loss, so together we can all breath a momentary sigh of relief. (Don't get too comfortable though.)
In a comment on a recent devotional here on O/G, a member posted about some input that a pastor friend gave that came from his own life experience. The situation involved marital problems. The crux of the story boiled down to the question (paraphrased) - If you sought after God as much as you sought after your wife, how much closer to resolution of your problem might you be today?
Man, that hit home in a big way. About a year and a half back, that is exactly where I was. Other recent devotions have talked about selfishness, which more times than not, in some way contributes to most marital problems. Today, lets widen the scope a bit and take a look at the issue with a kind of word picture.
In our lives, we all face difficult issues... difficult decisions. Some may relate to work. Some may relate to marital relationships. Some may relate to finances. Before long, life looks something like this...
The statement in the previous post got me to thinking... If I had a scale... and I placed my worries, concerns and efforts to solve my perceived problems on one side... then I placed the time and focus I spent in prayer, giving my worries and concerns over to God... what would it look like?
In the natural, we as men (even moreso than women) try to fix things in our own power. Even our prayers are often directed by our perception of the "problem" rather than seeking the hand of God to intervene. Our tendency to focus on the problem only prolongs the resolution. God already knows all of the details. He sees all sides of the issue, and sees through our defenses and justifications for our actions/responses. This holds true whether the problem we are facing is related to marital problems, financial issues, concerns about the state of society or the future of our country. The "issue" really isn't the issue. Although it is difficult to wrap our brains around, God is omnipotent. He is sovereign. Nothing happens in life without His notice. As His children, He wants the best for us, but He will allow us to learn the hard way when we want to keep the reigns of our lives rather than hand them over to Him.
Hear is a song that comes to mind... hopefully the link works...
http://www.myspace.com/whiteheart-45829033/music/songs/lay-it-down-powerhouse-album-version-34460188 Just in case, here are the lyrics:
Whiteheart - Lay It Down
Now the clock is standing still
The moment closes down to you
And what you feel
All the tremblings of your heart
All the dreams you whisper to the stars
All that you're not
All that you are
Lay it down
Lay it down
Come lay it down
Pictures colored with your pain
Images of silent shame
All the things you thought you had to hide
Broken memories you've locked inside
(Chorus)
Lay it down
Lay it down
Come lay it down
lay it down
Lay it down
Come to the kingdom
All you should have
Could have, might have been's
You know you wanna just start again
Moving past the jagged edge
Stop living on the lonely edge
(Chorus)
So kneel by the healing stream
And let His love keep flowing, flowing
Let it wash you clean
Let it wash you clean
(Chorus)
