Skip to main content

Not What I Think The Are

             And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

This is my Battle Bible verse for today. When I got home from Florida, my desktop computer crashed. I got it back yesterday but can’t find some files (especially my organizer files – my contacts, my to do list, my schedule. Basically, I’ve lost my mind.) A few weeks ago, Google decided that my author’s profile was my primary profile. That wasn’t so bad – two clicks and I was back to my primary profile. This morning, those two clicks take me to a new window, and the same place I was before I clicked twice.

Some folks might say, “no big deal.” But if their car stopped working, or their microwave or some other piece of equipment they use for their work, they might better understand my perspective. Fortunately, with both a desktop and a laptop, I can limp along, switching to the laptop when the desktop doesn’t work. But it’s frustrating. I want my tools to function properly!

But as I look at today’s passage, I have to grind my teeth a little. God will meet all my needs. Well, between the two computers, all my computer needs are met. They just aren’t met the way I want them to be. What I want God to do is miraculously make find my data and straighten out the issues.

Over the last week, I listened to all four gospels and the book of Acts. Have you ever noticed that little is ever said about Jesus procuring food or earning money? In fact, He advises against our focusing on these. Instead, we should be seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness. So the reality that makes me grind my teeth is that what I need from God is not for my data to be found or my issues to be resolved, but for me to turn to Him, trust Him, grow to be like Him. My need is to love Him with all my heart, soul, mind, and strength and to love my neighbor as myself – which requires that I show patience to everything and everyone that is getting in the way of my computers doing what I want them to (including me!) And I find myself thinking along the lines of wisdom, direction, attitude, creativity, courage, and vision.

With respect to the little problem of my organizer – as a friend would put it – I have a chance to reframe the issue. I have an opportunity to re-evaluate how I have thought about life. There were categories of activities that I didn’t use, and categories that I did use, but the tasks could just as easily have been put into a different category. They tended to be grouped into types of tasks, rather than purposes of the tasks or on the importance of the tasks. At the same time, I suspect that if “Love God” were a category, nothing I do would get assigned to it. Neither would it help (I suspect) to put things into categories of wisdom, direction, attitude, creativity, courage, and vision. But the lack of wisdom, direction, vision, and creative answers means that this is a place of both opportunity and growth, and that brings me back to my need for patience. Ultimately, the answer may not matter. I can put something in the category of “home and garden” or in “creativity” or something else. But the answer isn’t the key – the key is in the meditation on what is important and why.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The List

              Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,   through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;   perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. (Romans 5:1-5)           Think about it. We have been justified. At least, we could be justified if we stopped insisting that our justification be based on our merits. We have peace with God, or could have peace if we stopped throwing temper tantrums. We have gained access into grace i...
Post a Comment
Read more

Listen!

  While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” (Matthew 17:5)            Do you like roller coasters? I don't. You spend forever climbing a hill. You get to the top and have half a second, then you race down to a low point. Sometimes the racing down involves tying your insides into knots. At the bottom, you either have to be dragged up another hill or you get off the ride. Peter's life was a roller coaster from the time he met Jesus. There would be miracles, and then Jesus would teach things that didn't always make sense, and then they'd go out and perform miracles, and return to be taught. Peter was praised for giving the right answer to "Who do you say that I am?" Jesus said that said answer came from God. Peter was at the top of the hill.            ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Way, The Truth, and The Life

              Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me . (John 14:6)           If “I am the gate of the sheep…I am the good shepherd” from chapter 10 is a double whammy, this verse is a triple whammy. And its first victim is the notion that any other so-called god was acceptable or the same as Jesus. He, and He alone is the way, the truth, and the life, and the only way to get to the Father. There is no other Savior, or Redeemer, according to Jesus. Now, to be fair, other religions will claim that their religion or god(s) are the only way. That is the nature of gods and of religions. If this and that are equally good and agree on what’s necessary, then this and that are the same thing, so there’s no need to from the other to one. If that’s the case, then why speak against the other or promote the one? There’s a song I’ve been listening to i...
Post a Comment
Read more