Each morning I wake up, and I have a choice. Do I listen to the quiet, strong and commanding voice of the Lord? Or do I listen to the all too enticing, but deceitful voice of this world? My pastor’s messages from Luke these past few Sundays have definitely convicted my heart.
Luke 6:46-49: “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.”
Whatever motivates me to make a choice is evidence to that which my heart serves. So what do I want to have lordship over my life? There are a lot of different things that motivate people. Fitting in, feeling esteemed, feeling accepted, pride, jealousy, money, lust, control, independence, intellect, and so on. If I am honest, I can admit that a lot of the things that motivate my choices are probably pride, control, or the desire to feel accepted or feel loved. But, why would I want to be a slave to my pride? Why would I want to be obsessed with having control? Why would I want to win someone’s acceptance or love?
I wouldn’t want to serve anyone but Jesus, because it would be all in vain. Pride tricks me into thinking that I am better, that I am somehow my own god. In reality, I don’t have control because there is only One who has numbered my days and only One who writes His own story. Feeling accepted or loved is a fleeting emotional roller coaster of highs and lows. Daily I seem to be reminded of hurts in this life; relationships that are disappointing, friendships that continue to fail me, desires that go unfulfilled. The minute I start to think for a second that I can find ultimate satisfaction or genuine love from the world is the moment my heart starts serving sin.
If I keep basing my decisions on pride, control, acceptance, what will happen? The storm will come and I will collapse and be destroyed. I don’t want to be this person that Jesus describes who claims with my mouth that He is my Lord but then continues to make my choices based on the sin and evil stored up in my heart.
BUT if I lay my motivations at the feet of Jesus and ask Him to be the center of my daily choices and decisions, that is just the beginning of a strong foundation, one that will not be moved by the storms sure to come in this life. With such a foundation, my circumstances could not possibly ever change who I am in the Lord. I need to seriously evaluate where my heart is and if it reflects the Lordship of Christ.
What an amazing God that we have - He gives us a new start each morning. This walk with Him is a daily surrender, but I want my house to be a strong, unshakable one. I don’t want to be a hypocrite and crumble when the storms rage. If my God is for me, what could stand against? I will put His teachings and commands to practice; I will call Jesus my Lord, and He WILL be the only One who sustains me.
Lamentations 3:22-23
“Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for His compassions never fail.”
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