A father and his young son get into the family car and head off on a Saturday adventure. The destination is unknown to the little boy but his father has had this trip planned for weeks. You see, the little boy loves trains and his father was taking him to a real train station where he arranged for his son to meet an engineer and ride up front in the train. As the trip progresses the young boy finds himself filled with the never-ending desire that all children possess when traveling for a long car ride; he wants to know when they will arrive at their destination.
As anticipation builds, the dad begins facing an onslaught of questions, "Are we there yet? How much longer? What will we do when we get there?" The father, who is glad to see his son so excited, does his best to remain patient through the barrage of questions. Finally the son's father asks, "Why are you so excited, you don't even know where we are going?" In an innocent tone the little boy says, "Because daddy, you told me how great it is going to be!"
Jeremiah 29:11 says "For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." God has a plan for each of us that is so much better than anything we could imagine on our own. His Word plainly states this truth yet most of the time we fail to acknowledge it not to mention get excited about it. Just as the father in the story had been planning the Saturday trip for weeks, God has had a plan for you since the beginning of time.
You see, the little boy could have been disappointed. He could have had his Saturday planned full of cartoon watching and playing with his toy trains. The thought of riding on a real train was the furthest thing from his mind because he didn't even think it was a possibility. Instead, he trusted his father and undoubtedly had a far better Saturday than he would have had following his own plan.
We all have plans for the future whether it be for tomorrow, next week, next year or even the dreaded five-year plan. I encourage you to throw caution to the wind, give up on your own plan and embrace the plan your Heavenly Father has for you. Don't get me wrong, being prepared is never a bad thing, but I am talking about sacrificing what you think is best and surrendering to God's plan. Sure, you can go through life following your own plan and maybe do alright. Or you can strive to know God more and more and walk according to His plan and experience more than you ever thought possible.
-Erik
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Did You Hear Something?
On my way into work earlier this week I noticed my car was occasionally making a screeching noise. The noise I heard is usually associated with a loose belt. It was raining at the time so I just assumed the moisture was causing the belt to slip a little or that it was something else which wasn't really a cause for concern. Annoyed by the noise, I turned the volume up on my radio and continued on my way.
Now depending on the type of vehicle you have, a loose or broken belt can be a minimal problem or a major one. You could need a $14 belt that even a novice car person can throw on or else it could be a belt deep in the engine compartment that requires some level of engine disassembling to access. All of this is really insignificant if you choose to ignore the problem and do nothing about it.
As I turned the volume of my radio up, I couldn't help but draw a similarity to how we handle sin in our lives. Many times it starts out small. We call it stumbling or back sliding to make ourselves look and feel better, but when it happens, what do we do? We cover it up. We talk it down like it is no big deal. We don't tell anyone about it and if we are lucky, the only people who find out about it are God, satan and ourselves. In most cases we try to make it out as an isolated incident, we cover it up and we ignore it, hoping it goes away.
The problem is, covering it up or ignoring it is exactly what satan wants. What starts as a little problem becomes a big problem. What began as a one time occurrence becomes a minor struggle, then a habit, then a problem and finally it becomes destructive. It has taken our focus off of God and the things He wants to do in us and through us and directs our focus on our problem that now seems too large to overcome. We are left asking ourselves how it got this far.
1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." We need to confess, repent and seek strength and wisdom from God so we do not fall into the same strongholds again. God wants to give us victory but in order to do so we have to address our sins and it is better to do this when they start, not when they get out of control.
I encourage you as this week progresses, turn off your "radio" and listen to the noises under your spiritual "hood". Address the issues you are facing as soon as possible. Tell a friend or a fellow brother or sister in Christ about them so they can pray for and encourage you. While it isn't easy, the cost of a spiritual tune-up is far better than the cost of a major repair. Be blessed and have a great week.
-Erik
Now depending on the type of vehicle you have, a loose or broken belt can be a minimal problem or a major one. You could need a $14 belt that even a novice car person can throw on or else it could be a belt deep in the engine compartment that requires some level of engine disassembling to access. All of this is really insignificant if you choose to ignore the problem and do nothing about it.
As I turned the volume of my radio up, I couldn't help but draw a similarity to how we handle sin in our lives. Many times it starts out small. We call it stumbling or back sliding to make ourselves look and feel better, but when it happens, what do we do? We cover it up. We talk it down like it is no big deal. We don't tell anyone about it and if we are lucky, the only people who find out about it are God, satan and ourselves. In most cases we try to make it out as an isolated incident, we cover it up and we ignore it, hoping it goes away.
The problem is, covering it up or ignoring it is exactly what satan wants. What starts as a little problem becomes a big problem. What began as a one time occurrence becomes a minor struggle, then a habit, then a problem and finally it becomes destructive. It has taken our focus off of God and the things He wants to do in us and through us and directs our focus on our problem that now seems too large to overcome. We are left asking ourselves how it got this far.
1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." We need to confess, repent and seek strength and wisdom from God so we do not fall into the same strongholds again. God wants to give us victory but in order to do so we have to address our sins and it is better to do this when they start, not when they get out of control.
I encourage you as this week progresses, turn off your "radio" and listen to the noises under your spiritual "hood". Address the issues you are facing as soon as possible. Tell a friend or a fellow brother or sister in Christ about them so they can pray for and encourage you. While it isn't easy, the cost of a spiritual tune-up is far better than the cost of a major repair. Be blessed and have a great week.
-Erik
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