Claiming God's Promises
During my lifetime I have been fortunate to experience quite a handful of long road trips. There were exhilarating ones like Zion in the snow or Carlsbad Caverns in the summer and there were also ones where we found ourselves trapped in a two-day dust storm, engulfing west Texas. The latter put a whole new meaning to the term “barren wasteland,” and the most thrilling part of these two days was watching the occasional tumbleweed racing chaotically across the road. We’d watch them for miles, being tossed about in whichever direction the wind blew, recklessly bumping into whatever was in their path and bouncing off again to continue their mindless journey.
How often do we find ourselves blown about like this in the wake of life’s affairs, tumbling through the days in a blur of pointless energy? The big rush to nowhere in particular. Perhaps this is a bit melodramatic, but I think we all feel like this at one point or another. With the combobulation of tasks, deadlines, and social turbulence we face, it’s no wonder we gravitate towards sources of reality “check-outs.” We are eventually pulled back in and the cycle continues.
The catastrophe of this routine is that it can ignore the divine intentionality of our lives if we allow it. To neglect our daily mission as ambassadors for Christ, we fall into a hurriedness that can only be validated by our own subjective justifications. “Just trying to get through the day” or “I’m just so busy” roll off our tongues with alarming ease, excusing our spiritual idleness. The gravity of this situation is that it is far from what God intends. God did not create us to be knocked about through life. This does not mean we are supposed to drop everything for a monastic lifestyle, but instead, it is an invitation for us to claim God’s promises for our lives today, and in those to come. He has guaranteed us help in times of need, rest from our burdens, prosperity for our lives, and freedom in His Name. Let us put a stop to simply falling though life, and reclaim our divine purpose. Let us rise every day with restored intention. And above all, let us remain tethered to Christ, acknowledging His great direction for our lives.