The Danger of Being One Step Off God's Path

Sometimes it seems like there's nothing to worry about is we're just a little but out of line in one area of our lives - especially if it seems small, and we're just one step outside of God's path. We don't really worry about it because we're not really that far off. Little do we realize how dangerous this is.

The life and reign of King Solomon in Israel illustrates this quite clearly. Solomon was known for his wisdom - the thing he asked God for. King Solomon had it all, but he was led astray and ended up far from God's ways.

1 Kings 3 records a well-known part of Solomon's story in Scripture. This is where he is given the chance to ask God for whatever he wants and he chooses to ask for wisdom. Because of his choice, God blessed him, not only with the wisdom he asked for, but also wealth and a long life (1 Kings 3:10-15).

Every time I've turned to this passage, that has been the focus. And it's important. But, the other day when I started reading, I was stopped by just the first three verses of this chapter. They have something important to teach us.

1 Kings 3:1-3 says:

"Solomon made an alliance with Pharaoh king of Egypt and married his daughter. He brought her to the city of David until he finished building his palace and the temple of the Lord, and the wall around Jerusalem. The people, however, were still sacrificing at the high places, because a temple had not yet been built for the Name of the Lord. Solomon showed his love for the Lord by walking according to the instructions given him by his father David, except that he offered sacrifices and burned incense on the high places."

Near the beginning of Solomon's reign as king, we can see the subtle ways he's being pulled off God's path. There's two key ways given in this passage.

First, Solomon married the daughter of Pharaoh king of Egypt. The Egyptians were not followers of Yahweh. She would have had her own god and religious practices she brought with her into this marriage.

Second, Solomon continued to offer sacrifices and burn incense at the high places. The high places were where the gods of the peoples surrounding Israel would have been worshiped and their practices were detestable to Yahweh. But, Solomon was still participating in it.

Yes, it was good that Solomon was walking in God's ways in the rest of his life. And we see the benefits of that in the rest of 1 Kings 3. The long-term effects of these two things couldn't yet be seen. But, if we take a quick glance ahead at the end of Solomon's life, we see how his wives who each had their own gods and religious practices led him astray and he was far from God's ways. The pattern intensified as Solomon's life went on, but if began subtly, here at the beginning of his reign.

Much of Solomon's life as recorded in 1 Kings 3 was about living God's way. Looking at his life, it would have been easy to see the things he was doing that pleased Yahweh. And that would make it easier to justify that these other two things didn't really matter - that they were insignificant.

And that's exactly what we do. It's often easy to justify a couple of little things, especially if the rest of life is being done God's way. But, there's a huge danger lurking here. We might only be one step off God's path right now, but if we continue to go int hat direction, it won't take long for us to be much further off.

And we don't often realize how far off we've gotten until it's a long way back to God's path. By the time we realize it, we're distant and have lost the intimacy with God we once had.

Are there places in your life where you need to get back on God' path before you've ended up a lot further away then you ever intended to get?

Looking for Perfect?

"Allow life's imperfections to become what they were always meant to be - everyday signs that point you to Jesus. Use them as cue that can encourage you to look up from the annoyances of earthly life and see Him. The only One who truly satisfies." (Priscilla Shirer, Awaken Devotional, Day 22)

Somehow it always seems like the imperfections in life are more pronounced at this time of year. They're always there, but we notice them more at Christ,as. At least, I do.

Finding the perfect Christmas tree.
Decorating it perfectly.
Selecting the perfect outfit to wear to the Christmas party.
Choosing the perfect family picture to put with the Christmas letter that talks about all the highlights, the perfect moments, of the last year, but often ignore the other stuff.
Buying the perfect gift for everyone on your list.
Preparing the perfect meal for all around the table.
It can get exhausting.

Yet, in the midst of our search for "perfect" our longings never seem to be satisfied. Something is still missing. And, maybe at this time of year, those unmet longings never seem to be satisfied. So, we increase our pursuit of perfect, in hopes of finally finding satisfaction, only to find we never achieve it.

What if those longings we're so desperately looking to satisfy weren't meant to be met in anything on earth?
What if, instead of increasing the desperation of our search for perfect, they were meant to point us toward something other?
What if they were meant to cause us to lift our eyes?

When I take a moment to read it again, it quickly becomes clear that the original Christmas story was anything but perfect from an earthly perspective:

• Mary was not married when she became pregnant.
• Joseph was asked to believe the impossible and still become Mary's husband, even with the scandal.
• Joseph and Mary had to make a long journey when the time of Jesus' birth was near - not a comfortable time to travel.
• There was no room for them to stay in, so Jesus was born in a stable.
• The first visitors they received were shepherds - the lowest in society.
• When King Herod found out about his birth, they had to flee to Egypt.

The story of the birth of the long-awaited Messiah was imperfect. Nothing about it was as expected.

But Mary's response to this struck me this year. She didn't caught up in trying to find perfect.

Luke 2:19 says, "But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart." In the midst of the imperfect, Mary saw the treasures and held onto them. In Luke 1:46-55, Mary turned her eyes from the imperfect and worshiped God. She lifted her eyes from the imperfect around her, to the only perfect One.

How do you respond in the imperfect? In the midst of unmet longings?

It can be tempting to desperately search for perfect satisfaction on earth. Especially in a season where perfect seems to be the focus.

What would it look like if we instead allowed the imperfect to turn our eyes to Jesus and find the satisfaction we're looking for in Him - the only place it can truly be found?

"Allow life's imperfections to become what they were always meant to be - everyday signs the point you to Jesus. Use them as cues that can encouraeg you to look up from the annoyances of earthly life and see Him. The only One who truly satisfies." (Priscilla Shirer)

The Danger of Busy-ness

Do you ever have those times when you look at your calendar and realize you have booked yourself to do more things you normally would have? When you see that you are far more busy than you would have chosen to be?

That was the case for me recently. I looked at my calendar and realized I had something written on pretty much every day. Some people may like having something to do every evening after work and every weekend, but not me. I like my time at home.

This started me thinking about busy-ness in our lives. The way it affects us. The dangers of it.

The problem with busy-ness is that it can keep us form the things that really matter. When we're running from one thing to the next, our relationships with others and our relationship with God take a hit. We get so caught up in what we're doing that people don't have the priority that we should.

And then I began to wonder if that is exactly what Satan wants for us. To have us so busy with things that we don't have time for what really matters. To have us so busy that we forget about what is really important in life.

And we need to learn where to draw that line for ourselves. The line of what is too much to do and what is enough. And then we have to learn to live by that line.

Busy-ness can be a problem. We have to be careful with it.

Learning to Listen

I spent my May long-weekend camping with friends (hence the lack of posts since Thursday last week). It had been a few years since I had camped and far too long since I took time away from normal life that wasn't to go to something - a wedding, a conference, etc. It really was a relaxing and fun weekend.

Being away made me realize that there is something important about getting away from "normal life" every once in a while that is necessary. While I was there, I didn't worry about cleaning my house (just doing the dishes after eating), or about what I was going to wear (just wanted to be comfortable) or even what I was going to do next (I figured that out as one game or conversation came to an end). And I needed that.

I needed that time out with friends to be refreshed. It didn't take some big event for that to happen. Just some time to enjoy the company of other people and not worry about everything else in life.

The first night we were there, I woke up in the middle of the night. I couldn't go back to sleep right away, so I grabbed my jacket and headed to the beach. I sat on the beach for half an hour and just listened to everything around me. And I talked to God. No one else was up. As I sat in the silence, I was able to hear God's voice.

Sunday afternoon brought some time in a canoe. Peaceful. Quiet. Once again I was able to hear God's voice.

Monday morning was one last chance to sit at the beach and listen. And again I heard God speak.

As I've reflected on how easy it seemed to hear God's voice when I was there, I've also wondered why it seems so hard sometimes in everyday life. Often I struggle to hear God's voice.

Earlier today it struck me. The reason why I struggle to hear God's voice most of the time is because I don't slow down enough and get quiet enough to actually listen. I rush through life, and in the midst of the noise of it all, I often miss God's still small voice speaking. I heard God speak when I was camping because I stopped and made the space.

But I also know I don't have to get away to hear God speak. I can learn how to hear Him speak in the midst of my everyday life. But I have to learn how to create space to listen in it. If I don't create that space, I'll keep missing His voice. But if I learn to create that space to hear Him speak, I won't always be waiting until I can get away to hear God speak.

How are you doing at creating space in your life to hear God speak?

When was the last time you heard God speak to you?

How can you make time to hear God speak in your everyday life?

The Problem of Always Being Busy

Why do we hold up busy-ness as a badge of honour?

We often tell people how busy we are.

I wonder if we do that because we think it makes us sound important.

I know I've done that. I wanted the person I was talking to see me as someone important, so I talked about all I was doing to fill my time and I sounded busy. That was my goal with what I said, but looking back I'm not sure that was what I should have been trying for.

What if we thought of busy-ness differently?

What if we started to look at being really busy as a problem rather than a badge of honour? What would that look like?

Busy-ness isn't necessarily a good thing. It means we feel like we're just running from one thing to the next all day, falling into bed exhausted, and getting up the next morning to do it all over again.

There's one problem with that kind of living. One big problem . . . it leaves little time for relationships with people. And we were made for relationships with others. We need time for that in our lives.

Think about it . . . when you're feeling like you have lots of things to get done and not enough time to do it all, what is usually the first thing to do?

Time with friends.

We cancel the coffee date with a friend. We skip Bible study and church. We avoid the people we live with - by staying late at the office or closing the door to the home office to get things done.

In short, we cut the things that seem the easiest to cut. The reality is we're cutting the things we need the most.

Our busy-ness and our obsession with it isolates us. Often in the times when we need people the most. When we need to make family and friends more important, not less important.

What if we changed how we look at busy-ness?

What if we intentionally stopped looking at busy-ness as a badge of honour?

What if we started to look at busy-ness as a problem? As the problem it is?

Maybe that would change the way we talk. And maybe that would change what gets cut when it seems like we have too much to do and not enough time to do it. Relationships with those closest to us would be more important, not relegated to the bottom of the list.

Are You Missing What You Already Have?

Usually at work, I'm wishing for some uninterrupted quiet to just get things done. Time with no one coming to my office with a question, and no phone calls or emails to deal with.

Don't get me wrong. I enjoy my co-workers and really couldn't ask for better people to work with. But most days, I need the reminder that I have stuck just under my computer screen.

People are not interruptions to my work; people are part of my work.

This afternoon, for one of the few times ever, I ended up with an hour of uninterrupted quiet. The rest of the the office was doing some training on a computer program I'm rather familiar with.

It was strange to be sitting in an office that was so quiet. They were just down the hall, but for that hour no one came to my office door, my phone didn't ring, and I didn't get any emails. Exactly what I've wished for sometimes.

And by the end of that hour, I was wishing for someone to come by my office. I was tired of the uninterrupted quiet. I wasn't used to it at work and it wasn't all that I thought it would be.

As I was driving home today, I started thinking about it and how that experience reflected on life at a greater scale.

How often do we wish for something? Thinking that if we just get that one thing we'll enjoy it fully. Only to find that once we get that, it isn't all that we thought it would be.

There are many things like this in life. We wish for some item, some relationship, some opportunity. Only to find ourselves wanting more when we actually get that.

Maybe we need to change our thinking. Instead of focusing on what we want, we need to focus on making the most of what we have.

At work I'd gotten to the point of focusing on how I wanted that uninterrupted quiet, when maybe I should have been focusing on the good in my job even when I have what can seem like interruptions to my work. People really are my work - not the tasks I have to complete. Because people - in this case - my coworkers are what makes my job enjoyable.

What about you? What are you focusing on that you wish you could have? What are you missing that you have right now because you're focusing on what you wish you could have?