Well… this week I will take down the stockings, remove all the candy canes, lights and balls from our "throw-back" Christmas tree, and put away the various reminders of
Old St. Nicholas and all his friends. The angels will be carefully laid in their storage boxes and my manger scene statue will be padded and packed. It's kind of sad to put away all the visual reminders of the birth of our Savior, but it will also be nice not to have to pick up foil icicles from various parts of the house. The table tops won't be so cluttered with extra decor and dusting will be a little easier.
Hmmmmm.....clutter...dusting....there's a sermon in there for sure! Like for instance, what if we cleared the clutter out of our lives? Do you think God could get to the dusting part easier if He didn't have so much junk to remove first? How did all that stuff get there in the first place? One at a time, that's how.
How about cleaning the clutter out of our thought life? Before we know it, there's so much stuff and so much noise running interference we couldn’t hear God’s voice if we squeezed our eyes shut and stuck out fingers in our ears. I know sometimes I feel like I have a party going on in my head with a lot of uninvited guests. Not that I hear voices mind you, but things that people have said or done or might do echo through my mind. Thought cycles and bunny trails leave me feeling like I’m caught up in a whirlwind. Hosea 8:7 says: "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to give these anxious thoughts a place to multiply. That would surely be sowing to the wind. I don’t want to reap a whirlwind and I surely don’t want the enemy to steal any fruit I manage to produce in the midst of the storms. So…If I am going to be of any use to God’s kingdom, I have to harness my thoughts. 2 Corinthian 10:5 says: We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
So what does that all really mean anyway? Well….in short, it means to trust God. Get to know Him more through reading His word. (That’s how you get the knowledge of God) Trust Him with your feelings, trust Him with your outcomes, and trust Him with your life. It doesn’t matter what anyone says or does, because those who trust in the Lord will be protected and renewed. So give those crazy anxious thoughts the boot, and rest in knowing that God loves you and He’s got it all under control. Be still and quiet sometimes and listen for Him to speak. I’m sure He has something to say to you. (and me too)
Old St. Nicholas and all his friends. The angels will be carefully laid in their storage boxes and my manger scene statue will be padded and packed. It's kind of sad to put away all the visual reminders of the birth of our Savior, but it will also be nice not to have to pick up foil icicles from various parts of the house. The table tops won't be so cluttered with extra decor and dusting will be a little easier. Hmmmmm.....clutter...dusting....there's a sermon in there for sure! Like for instance, what if we cleared the clutter out of our lives? Do you think God could get to the dusting part easier if He didn't have so much junk to remove first? How did all that stuff get there in the first place? One at a time, that's how.
How about cleaning the clutter out of our thought life? Before we know it, there's so much stuff and so much noise running interference we couldn’t hear God’s voice if we squeezed our eyes shut and stuck out fingers in our ears. I know sometimes I feel like I have a party going on in my head with a lot of uninvited guests. Not that I hear voices mind you, but things that people have said or done or might do echo through my mind. Thought cycles and bunny trails leave me feeling like I’m caught up in a whirlwind. Hosea 8:7 says: "They sow the wind and reap the whirlwind. The stalk has no head; it will produce no flour. Were it to yield grain, foreigners would swallow it up.”
Now, I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to give these anxious thoughts a place to multiply. That would surely be sowing to the wind. I don’t want to reap a whirlwind and I surely don’t want the enemy to steal any fruit I manage to produce in the midst of the storms. So…If I am going to be of any use to God’s kingdom, I have to harness my thoughts. 2 Corinthian 10:5 says: We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
So what does that all really mean anyway? Well….in short, it means to trust God. Get to know Him more through reading His word. (That’s how you get the knowledge of God) Trust Him with your feelings, trust Him with your outcomes, and trust Him with your life. It doesn’t matter what anyone says or does, because those who trust in the Lord will be protected and renewed. So give those crazy anxious thoughts the boot, and rest in knowing that God loves you and He’s got it all under control. Be still and quiet sometimes and listen for Him to speak. I’m sure He has something to say to you. (and me too)