"Did you look on the dresser like I asked you to?"
"Well....no. But I looked EVERYwhere else! Why is it so hard to find?!"
"Go look on the dresser."
"It's here!?! Man that was a lot of work to find!"
Tell me it isn't just my house?! Eyes sweeping a room, breathing faster to give the facade of speed, emotions in hyperdrive....all in an attempt to locate the latest treasure (no doubt worth $0.02 or less) or whatever item I need them to retrieve for me. Once said item is found, peace is restored, celebration occurs, and there's this congratulatory exhale of having survived the plight. Wash, rinse, repeat. In a house with four daughters, this scene can happen multiple times a day. Insert eye-roll emoji here.
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And if I'm honest, I have been known to take my whole house apart looking for one missing game piece or accessory that I know has not walked down the street. What in the world would my day look like without all the looking?! Ah, I digress...
Back to my question at the top...."Did you look on the dresser like I asked you to?"
And the response...."Well....no. But I looked EVERYwhere else! Why is it so hard to find?!"
The truth is, it wasn't hard to find had the looking started in the place I directed. And these tiny hearts want credit for all the energy and perseverance it took to find it. Hmmmmmm.....sound like wandering in the dessert for 40 years?!
How often does my not so tiny heart want the same thing? How often do I approach God this way? How often has he been clear with His desire for me--either from His Word as applied to all believers, or specifically telling me where to step?!
"Find your fulfillment in ME", the Lord says.
Hmmmm....why aren't my husband and kids satisfying me?!?
Hmmmm....I marked everything off my to-do list and just wasn't time for scripture. Why do I feel distance from God?
Hmmmm....I am doing all the things at church and serving in all the ways but never slow down enough to be transformed by the Word?! Why isn't checking all the boxes enough?
Hmmmm....I feel God pulling me to do something outside of the box but it isn't what most people are doing around me so I'm staying in the box. Why does this feel so hard?!
I come in prayer wanting to hear "Well done good and faithful servant", armed with the words "See Lord, it still isn't working." Please hear my heart: the above (and oh, so many more) are in no way pointing a finger; I have asked all of the above either out loud or in my heart. And I have a suspicion that I'm not alone in that boat.
And while God scoops me up in all His merciful grace, did I look in the one place he told me look?! Did I step the way He was guiding? Did I follow through when he prompted me to talk to that person, send that text, or buy their lunch? The truth is they were never supposed to satisfy, scripture was meant to be a priority, checking boxes is never the goal, and obedience is always the right option.
There is a lot of noise pulling me to look EVERYwhere other than at the Lord. Noise that distracts me more than I care to admit. And in my heart, I still often want bonus points for all the time I spend doing the hard work of looking elsewhere; the hard work of making "good" off my list.
What a gift there is in a God who is always sitting, waiting on me to tune out the noise, stop looking in all the places, and simply look where He told me look!
Back to my question at the top...."Did you look on the dresser like I asked you to?"
And the response...."Well....no. But I looked EVERYwhere else! Why is it so hard to find?!"
The truth is, it wasn't hard to find had the looking started in the place I directed. And these tiny hearts want credit for all the energy and perseverance it took to find it. Hmmmmmm.....sound like wandering in the dessert for 40 years?!
How often does my not so tiny heart want the same thing? How often do I approach God this way? How often has he been clear with His desire for me--either from His Word as applied to all believers, or specifically telling me where to step?!
"Find your fulfillment in ME", the Lord says.
Hmmmm....why aren't my husband and kids satisfying me?!?
Hmmmm....I marked everything off my to-do list and just wasn't time for scripture. Why do I feel distance from God?
Hmmmm....I am doing all the things at church and serving in all the ways but never slow down enough to be transformed by the Word?! Why isn't checking all the boxes enough?
Hmmmm....I feel God pulling me to do something outside of the box but it isn't what most people are doing around me so I'm staying in the box. Why does this feel so hard?!
I come in prayer wanting to hear "Well done good and faithful servant", armed with the words "See Lord, it still isn't working." Please hear my heart: the above (and oh, so many more) are in no way pointing a finger; I have asked all of the above either out loud or in my heart. And I have a suspicion that I'm not alone in that boat.
And while God scoops me up in all His merciful grace, did I look in the one place he told me look?! Did I step the way He was guiding? Did I follow through when he prompted me to talk to that person, send that text, or buy their lunch? The truth is they were never supposed to satisfy, scripture was meant to be a priority, checking boxes is never the goal, and obedience is always the right option.
There is a lot of noise pulling me to look EVERYwhere other than at the Lord. Noise that distracts me more than I care to admit. And in my heart, I still often want bonus points for all the time I spend doing the hard work of looking elsewhere; the hard work of making "good" off my list.
What a gift there is in a God who is always sitting, waiting on me to tune out the noise, stop looking in all the places, and simply look where He told me look!
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