The Rock in the Foreground
April 11, 2010 
The other day as went about my daily routine, my relationship with the Lord -- or lack thereof -- was on my mind.
I believe in God. I love Jesus. I believe He is the Son of God. I delight in His Word.
But do I know Him? Do I know him enough? Do I surrender myself to Him?
What was on my mind was this: My resistance. My resistance to know the Lord more. My resistance to let go of myself. The Trinity and the Word are such an amazing gift... for ME! Why don't I naturally gravitate towards enjoying them more?
I can come up with all kinds of reasons... Usually I either feel so busy that the thought of sitting down and quieting my mind to spend time with God seems impossible (it's not), or I'm so tired that I don't feel like I have the mental capacity to really absorb what I'm reading. "I'll do it later," I think. "When I'm in a better place, mentally. I'll do it then."
But that's the thing about God's Word... It's there for us always, no matter where we are at in our life. Bottom of the barrel or high on a mountain top. Alone or surrounded by a stadium full of people. Running around like a chicken with your head cut off or dog tired. Not only is it an amazing gift to us, but also, we need it. God's Word will never let us down. In fact, it lifts us up.
So, back to my own personal situation... I know all this, so why do I resist?
Just moments after contemplating this question, I sat down to read my daily (except I don't always do it daily) devotional, found here. Have you ever had those moments when you felt like God was directly sending you a message? This was one of those moments.
The devotional was entitled The Privilege of Knowing God.
Hello? Wasn't I just thinking about knowing God?
Um, yes. I was.
What struck me the most was how Paul counted everything else as worthless compared to the tremendous blessing of knowing the Lord. It made me think about all the things I put before God; the things that I feel I just MUST get done before I spend time with Him.
I'm not a very materialistic person, and I don't think I lead a very indulgent life, and we do try to live Godly lives, but that doesn't mean that I don't put things before my Lord, just the same.
What kinds of things? ALLLLLLL kinds of things!
Laundry, cooking, vacuuming, feeding the kids, organizing the closets, raking leaves, digging up the garden, dusting, talking to family and friends, going to social functions, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.....
Sure, those are all things I have to do. And they are good things to do. But none of them are more important than knowing my Lord.
None of them.
I'm not here today to preach a sermon to you. I just wanted to share where I'm at, spiritually. I write about all kinds of things and don't always mention my faith, so I guess I just wanted to take some time to acknowledge it. God is always there, in the background of my thoughts. But what He's telling me today is that He wants to be in the foreground.
Message received.
"Thus says the LORD, "Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things," declares the LORD." Jeremiah 9:23-24
Reader Comments (4)
Thank you for this!
Thank you for sharing that. I think we may be on the same page. I know that I need to come to know the Savior more, have more faith and trust.
You speak it perfectly ... what was on my mind.
I know that I am always thinking how much I put in front of getting to know God better. It could be anything from chores, friends, phone calls, and sleep.
But remember, any time is a perfect time to find and speak with God! For me, I often find that time in the car, while I'm driving. :)
Great thoughts! We missed you today!