August 15, 2023
Expectation or Avoidance?
God is up to something so are we living in a state of expectation or a state of avoidance? If you are in a state of expectation, you are constantly intentionally looking for what God is doing and how you can be a part of it. If you are in a state of avoidance, you are hoping that what God is doing doesn’t show up and get in the way of your plans.
The first state (expectation) comes from a heart that is seeking God because of your overflowing love for Him because of how much He has demonstrated His love for you. The second state (avoidance) comes from a selfish heart that doesn’t want your relationship with God to cost you anything or mess up your comfortable life. There is quite a difference in these two states of mind and a definite difference in results.
Some people look at other people and wonder what they have inside that they don’t have. They see people who are productive and blessed in their spiritual life, business life, and personal life and seem to keep it all in a good working order. They see people whom seem to be genuinely at peace with God, themselves, and others and wonder “how do they do that?” They know that something is missing in their own lives but wonder how to find it. But they also don’t want to be bothered with the responsibility that it takes to find it and keep it.
The key word is intentional priorities. Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33 to, “seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” “All these things” that Jesus talks about are the cares and concerns of life. We must deal with them but far too many times we put them ahead of what Jesus is trying to do in and through our lives. These “things” usually stress us out and cause us to not be at peace with anyone – God, ourselves, and others.
So our relationship with God becomes just another thing that we try to fit into an already overcrowded schedule. What if we scheduled time with Jesus FIRST and then see how other things fell into place? What if we were stubbornly intentionally about not allowing “things’ getting ahead of Jesus? Jesus promises that if we did that (Put Him First) these other things that we think are so important will line up in a perfect order of priority.
That means that He knows about these “things.” He cares about these “things,” and He will help you organize and handle these “things.” I have found that many times when I put Him first, He actually handles these things for me. “Things” that stressed me out were not as bad as I had made them when I allowed Jesus to take care of them. So let’s give this promise from the lips of Jesus a try and see how much better our lives can go.
In love with Jesus – Pastor Gary