This morning as I started to feed our cat, I realized I had the dishwashing detergent in my hand and was ready to put the meow mix into the dishwasher! As Benny (our cat) had a confused look on his face, I realized I had a little too much on my mind. Driving into work realized I was too preoccupied with my own stuff. I know you may be laughing, but I venture to guess some of you have done something similiar - maybe put the milk in the cupboard and the cereal in the fridge...:)
We can be so concernced with ourselves that we loose sight of our mission in life, which is not what we do for God but that we obey Him. Jesus said, "if you love Me, you will obey My commandments (John 14:15). Obeying Him should be simple, but sometimes we get our own adgenda's in the way, thinking we are doing "good" for God.
Take the case of David, for instance in 1 Chronicles 21. This is the story of David's preoccupation with himself - and his pride. Verse 1 states, "Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census," which David's advisors knew was wrong but he still ordered the number of his army to be counted. What the real issue is here for David is that he wanted to take the credit for Israel's victories (the size of their army under his leadership), instead of giving the credit to God. As the story continues, David is confronted by his prophet, repents and makes a sacrifice to the Lord.
One thing I love about David, no matter how many times he makes a mistake, he is willing to admit it, repent and move forward with God's plan. He might have made many poor choices but his heart was for God and Israel, that was his secret of success.
As we continue with the story in 1Chronicles, we see what Satan meant for evil, God turned into good for David. This is my favorite part of this story: even though David made a huge mistake, after he made a sacrifice on the threshing floor, the Lord gave him the vision for the next phase of his life and ministry. When we read 1 Chronicles 22:1, David says, " this is the house of the Lord God, and this is the altar of the burnt offering of Israel, " (KJV). AFTER he repented for his mistake, God revealed to him the next location of the temple, which we know as Solomon's Temple. Humbling ourselves before God brings restoration to Him and then in turn will give us fresh revelation. There is revelation at the floor!
2 comments:
I feel like this all the time.I am so busy and have zero time to really think about anything, that by the time that i do lay down and want to pray i feel guilty because i am too preoccupied with my own things. This made me realize that if i set aside a few moments for god during my crazy schedule i will probably feel less stressed...which I'm sure everyone would agree.
P.s- if you're not sure how to comment, all you need to do is sign up for a free Gmail account!! ...Blogs are more fun with other peoples opinions:)
Oh how I can relate to this! Just this morning I was deep in thought when I realized I wasn't driving to work, I was heading the opposite direction! I was driving to the theatre in Birdsboro instead of my job in Bethel! I am so preoccupied!
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