03/14/2023
Sometimes I am my own worst enemy. I want a simpler life, a less-stressful life, a life filled with more peace, joy, and happiness.
And yet . . . .
My old habits of hurry, preoccupation, busyness, and angst get in the way. I can see over and around these barriers to my desired simpler life, but they are like a wall of defense blocking my offense to keep me from my fullness.
Maybe these old habits are barriers in your life as well.
Here’s what I’m discovering: I have no one to blame but myself. Not my circumstances. Not my job. Not my family. Not the government, social media, or the gazillion movie options on my Apple TV. There have always been, and always will be, people, systems, programs, and cultural values that play defense blocking our offense to keep us from our fullness.
For example, how many times do I reach for my phone every day? It’s like a “go-to drug” that attempts to fill a void of silence or a few minutes of downtime. But that downtime turns into more stress-time as I feel the urgency of checking Facebook, the news, the stock market, or, as is more often the case for me, my ESPN app.
How many times do you turn to your phone in the lulls of your daily schedule? According to one study, “The average iPhone user touches his or her phone 2,617 times a day” (Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, xiv). John Ortberg points out that by way of contrast, the psalmist said, “I have set the Lord always before me” (Psalm 16:8, ESV).
What would our lives be like if God touched our minds as frequently as we touched our phones?
Yes, I am my own worst enemy, and maybe you are too. We all have choices to make and actions to take. Not all of life is beyond our control. We can choose to slow down, put our cell phones away, take a deep breath, and meditate on God’s Word. We can calm our spirits and minds. We can let go and let God take care of the world.
We are renewed in the Lord so that we can serve and join Jesus on mission. We do so, however, not from a frenetic spirit or frantic heart but from a soul filled in the calm waters of God’s Spirit that brings life.
“He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:2b, ESV). “Truly my soul finds rest in God” (Psalm 62:1, NIV). “Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him.” (Psalm 62:5, NIV).
May your soul find rest in God today, and as you are on offense against the Enemy’s defense, may you discover your fullness in the abiding presence of the One who lived, died, and rose again, even Jesus the Nazarene.
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid” (Jesus, John 14:27, NIV).
