Wednesday, January 24, 2007

Reality Check

Psalms 118:24 – This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.
I’m not a big fan of “Reality Shows.” To be honest I haven’t watched a lot of them, just a bit here and there, and also watched ads for upcoming shows. My thought is they don’t seem to have much to do with reality.
Having said that, we might ask what is reality – real life. I believe it is that in which we have a responsibility to act, meaning the present time. We can remember the past, with pain or joy, and we can think of the future with dread or hope, but it is in the present that we live. It is the only time we have a choice to believe and obey God or not.
Hebrews 3:12-13 – Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
One thing I’ve noticed about daily life, it’s mundane. But God has made our days the building blocks of our lives. I’ve come to realize after 40 years of marriage that the strength of Terry’s and my relationship is the hundreds and thousands of days we’ve spent together (some good and some not so good.) Some were exciting and different (such as trips and vacations), but the vast majority are those common days filled with daily life and talk. One example is sitting on the porch swinging on a summer day. If I were to examine one of those days, it would seem like nothing happened as we sat there, but actually we just couldn’t feel it happening. With the accumulation of many days we begin to understand the effectiveness of spending time together.
A while back after hearing the phrase “Reality TV,” I began to think on these things. I looked at my own attitude towards life and especially God’s role in my life. As I’ve noted before, this year has been rough. In the last month or so I’ve had trouble with an upset stomach and being tired (which hinders my thinking). My time is limited because I sleep a lot. There are many things I “want” to do, and things I feel I “should” be doing, like being useful to God. But it seemed like He was far, far away.
Over the years since I committed my life to the Lord, I’ve had ups and downs spiritually, though I’ve read my Bible nearly every day. I’ve found when I take the time to sit and prayerfully read and meditate on God’s Word, my faith is strengthened. This is spending time with the Lord.
This brings me to where I am right now. In my trying times I’ve thought, why doesn’t God deliver me from this? Yet I know He is with me and that is such a great comfort. As I go through this time, I sense He’s nudging me to give up my own desires and yield myself to His loving hands? So often we’ve thought if God is good, He’d do what we wanted Him to, i.e. answer our prayer the way we want. But that is not what God’s Word says.
He doesn’t tell us things on earth will be perfect. He does tell us over and over to trust in Him. If things were to operate smoothly in our lives without flaw, such as there would be no sickness, our children would automatically serve Him, there would be no car accidents, etc. we’d have no need to trust Him.
Psalms 118:8,19,20 -- It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man. Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go through them, I will praise the Lord. This is the gate of the Lord, through which the righteous shall enter.
I am grateful even in the hard times, that I serve a faithful and loving God who always keeps His word. He is always the same, He does not waver. This should be a cause of rejoicing for all of us who serve Him. He truly is good ALL THE TIME! Praise His name!

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