Write On.life: Thoughts. Written. Shared.

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.”

“But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

   My thoughts on this topic are and have been scattered throughout this week. Taking time for the Lord in our everyday lives is a challenge for every single one of us. Is reading the daily Bible readings enough? There’s a song in our Christian Hymnal that holds the question, “Ere you left your room this morning, did you think to pray?” Every morning we wake up, the Lord sees what we’re going to face that day. He sees the potential danger, the possible argument with a customer or coworker, or even maybe an opportunity to be a witness for him. How many times have we rushed through our boring devotions and then promptly forgot what we had read and watched a news video or see what’s happening in the group chat? Of course the most common excuse is that we’re busy. Always the same thing. We’re all busy. We have jobs to do. We have to go shopping, gas up our vehicles, haul junk to the scrapyard, take our grungy old shop cats to the vet, drive here and there for weddings, funerals, vacations, etc. There’s many scenarios every day where we, in a sense, “stand in the way of sinners.” And in the process of our everyday lives it’s easy to pick up some ungodly counsel. Where do you go when you start feeling anxious about the future? That one problem you’re facing where you think there’s just no way out. Our thinking is so limited and when we can’t see a solution, we worry. There’s a church sign I pass every so often that says “Don’t use your energy to worry, use your energy to believe.” I’ve found that so many times if you begin your day with the Lord, He’s right there 10 hours later when you are faced with that same old feeling of dread or uncertainty. Psalm 91:14 says “Because he has set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him. I will set him on high because he hath known my name.” Many of David’s psalms speak of calling on the Lord in a time of trouble. And rightly so, the Lord hears you call in a time of desperation. But what about in a time of peace? Maybe you’ve had 3 good days where you’ve had a song in your heart. Everything seems to be looking up. Where does the Lord come in then? You didn’t need His help for anything serious so do you still pray? There was a thought in our youth boys Sunday school awhile back that has stuck with me, about thanksgiving. If the Lord in His goodness has led you into green pastures, do you take the time to thank Him? Too many times we forget that the Lord is interested in our everyday lives. He delights in helping us with our little problems if we just ask. But then we’re too often like the 9 lepers that for some reason or another couldn’t take the time to come back and thank the Lord. Another thing I thought of was unwillingness. Reading the Bible is essential to a Christian but just reading it will not be enough. Most of the time it will call you into action. If we are unwilling to follow the teaching and examples left by Jesus, do we really delight in the law of the Lord? He might ask us to give something up. Maybe to apologize to a brother or sister that we’ve offended. We can come to the Lord in prayer feeling somewhat content about where we are, but then something is pointed out to us. Do we walk away sorrowful, like the rich man in one of Jesus’ parables? He thought he had lived pretty well. He probably was an honest man, he probably gave some of his money to a worthy cause, and he probably was kind to his neighbors or whoever else he met. But when Jesus asked that one final thing of him, it was too much. He walked away, unwilling to fully delight in the law of the Lord. As a final thought and encouragement, let’s not forget about each other. The world is full of evil and seeks to destroy us. One thing that has become very special to me lately is Sunday school. There’s no excuse for anyone not to share a little thought that’s on your mind. The Lord didn’t place us here together to have us all fight our own battles. Someone may need what you have or you might need to listen to what they have to say. The Lord can speak through your friends, not just the Bible or from songs. “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (Hebrews 13:20-21)

~ a guest author

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