Gawking at everything?

The Lord sees everything, and he watches us closely. Sinners are trapped and caught by their own evil deeds. They get lost and die because of their foolishness and lack of self-control. (Proverbs 5:21-23 CEV)

None of us can say we watch so closely as to NEVER miss a thing! If I were honest, I would tell you there were times I was watching so closely to see what God would do in a particular circumstance, only to miss him moving somewhere other than where I was focusing! I wasn't looking where he was acting! He focused on another area of my life, but I missed it all together - seeing only the end results, but oblivious to the exact way they happened! We probably are all like this now and again - focusing so intently on one thing and missing where God is moving just a little bit down the road in our lives. Our focus might be too broad. We miss the pothole because we were just gazing at the scenery! Life is a little bit of focusing intently, but not so intently that we cannot see the bigger picture.

When our focus is not correct, we fall into the messy circumstances of life. God has the "bigger picture". He watches us closely - we are part of the "bigger picture" he keeps constantly in his focus. Some may think that God sees everything, so don't get "caught" doing anything wrong. Pursue wisdom - for nothing will guide us in life quite like the pursuit of the person of Christ. Wisdom is found in a person, not in an amassing of knowledge. We pursue Christ, keeping our focus on him, and he will help us to possess the wisdom to make the right choices when the circumstances change, and we need to respond in obedience to his will.

We have been given mothers and fathers to help "raise" us up in the right way we are to live. Even when our "natural" parents weren't all that great, God's provides for what we didn't have in a natural sense - by giving us "spiritual parents" to help us develop this right sense of living. Embrace their advice and listen to their reminders - what you may gain is your life! We have "common sense" to help us in times where a lack of clarity exists. When all else seems to just fall a little short of giving us the full picture, we have this thing known as common sense to guide us. If our conscience and what we know to be true don't disagree, we can move forward because we have used some common sense in making the decision.

We are called to listen and obey. We think we can obey without really listening. We put the cart before the horse if we think obedience can come before really listening to the counsel of God! This is why he asks us to take time with him each day, listen to the wisdom of those he places in our lives, and then to match up what he provides in his Word, times of meditation, and the counsel we have received with what we "know" to be true (common sense). Listen first - then take action. If we'd just get that one lesson down, we'd avoid a whole lot of potholes along the way.

God sees everything and watches us closely. It isn't because he wants to catch us "tripping up", but because he wants us to be successful in our walk with him. The hope does not come in the discovery of the pothole, but in knowing how to avoid it so we don't find ourselves tripped up by our own lack of self-control. Trust the one with the "bigger picture" to guide your path and orchestrate your outcomes, but don't get so caught up in the "scenery" that you lose focus of the path you travel! Just sayin!

Inner Rest

 If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you. Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before you. Save me from my enemies, God—you’re my only hope! Teach me how to live to please you, because you’re my God. Lead me by your blessed Spirit into cleared and level pastureland. (Psalm 143:8-10)

The sound of God's voice - do you know what that is? Do you recognize his still small voice? When we learn to recognize God's voice, there is a certain sense of peace that settles into our hearts. We begin to 'operate' on a different level because we know his guidance will establish our path. All God asks of each of us is that we be 'all ears' when it comes to his voice, and 'closed ears' when it comes to listening to the voice of temptation or evil. 

God's greatest delight is for us to desire to live in a manner that pleases him - allowing him to help us through difficult moments when we might not even recognize that we are being tempted to say or do something that wouldn't bring him honor. In turn, it doesn't bring us any honor, either. The simplest prayer for us to lift to his ears is the one that asks him to teach us how to live well - it can also be the hardest one to utter.

If we begin to pray that prayer on a regular basis, imagine what God could do in our lives. We might just see doors that have been tightly shut to us open up and unseen pathways become clear. There is just something about God being invited to show us where to step, how to take those steps, and when we should move forward that delights his heart. If we struggle with finding true 'rest' in our lives, it could be that we haven't really allowed God to become our 'resting place'. 

Trust is established where there is open and honest communication. If we lack trust in God, perhaps it can begin to be established by us opening up our hearts, sharing our inner struggles, and then just listening. As we await his guidance, we might just begin to feel the release that leads to that 'inner rest'. Just sayin!