Back That Thang Up

"We all want progress, but if you're on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive." – C.S. Lewis

 

Have you ever felt like you were lost? Or you couldn't understand why or even what things were happening in your life? You never claimed to be a calculus major, but things weren't adding up in your life the way YOU thought they should? I have. And you have too (don't lie). The past couple months have been all those things for me. More questions than answers. More unrest than peace. More lost than found. But then, after daily prayer and truly coming to a breaking point, a serious new point of view was revealed to me in this conversation:

Me: "GOD!? WHERE are you in my life?!"

God: "HEY! WHERE am I in your life?"

Well dang. I hadn't thought too hard on that one. This whole time, while going through an unwanted job change, some major shifts in relationships, trying to figure out my calling in life, I had lost sight (also know as "made lite") of my relationship with God. (Btw, trying to figure out your calling WITHOUT God….impossible. Might as well try to pick up that chair your sitting in). I was so focused on my job, my relationships, my future, that I lost track of where God was in my priorities. I know the verse says "seek FIRST His kingdom….then all the other good junk comes," but I had let the things God had placed IN my life to take OVER my life. And when the job changed, when the relationships shifted, when the horizon became cloudy….. I caved. Why? Because I wasn't in tune with the Author of my life anymore. I was trying to write the story. And figuratively speaking, we all suck at writing. Just saying.

Have you ever been walking with someone in a crowd of people? And then, you got split up? You stand on your tip toes trying to look over everyone's head to keep track of where that person is. As long as you can still see them, albeit from a distance through some obstructions, you "feel" ok. You aren't lost yet. But what happens in that moment you tip toe up and…..gasp….you can't see them? Too many people or things in the way, you look frantically for a sign of them. Their hat, a shirt color….something. Then, as the crowd fades…you still can't find them. NOW you feel it. You feel alone. "If I had just stuck closer to them…if I had not let things get between us….. I wouldn't be standing here alone right now." BAM! That's what hit me. I had lost God in the happenings of my life! WHERE was God in my life? If I had kept Him in first place, KNOWING that His will for me is BOTH Good AND Perfect, I would NOT feel lost, and I would not BE lost. I would be walking, step by step, with Peace, everywhere I went.

So what do you do when you lose something? You retrace your steps, until you found where you lost it. You head back to the place where you were separated. So that's what I'm doing. I realized that I was wrong. I realized, God had been moved out of first place in my life. I realized I needed to back up. I needed to reprioritize my life again (btw, I've also realized I must do this every day…….yeah I know it sounds like a lot of work, but it's completely worth every effort). God; First. Check. Then, let Jesus work with you on the rest of your list.

That's what I have resolved to do. The next chapter of my life will not be penned by myself. I will be seeking God's wisdom, and trying whole heartedly to put it into action in my life. It took a lot of prayer, and a smothering of my pride to realize I needed to turn around. But God never gave up on me. I may have lost God in the crowd of my life, but He never once took His eyes off me. He hasn't taken His eye off you either. And if anything I've said here has landed in the lap of your heart, if the weight of the things in this world seem overbearing or uncertain to you, I urge you to take a step back, to look at WHERE God IS in your life, and to reprioritize accordingly (hint: God goes in the spot labeled #1). You just might find that the next step forward, is another step back, so God can step in.

 

For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. – 2 Corinthians 4:17-18

In The Beginning…

Revelatious: A lifestyle of discovering, understanding (to the best of our ability), and implementing the thoughts and wisdom of God in our everyday lives.

There are, dare I say, A LOT of blogs out there. Some are funny, some are serious. Some are insightful, while others are light hearted and encouraging. The best ones, in my opinion (dangerous words these days), are the ones that turn heads. And while this blog will strive to be all the things mentioned above, it was born out of the idea of turning heads. Violently. In a neck snapping, whiplash resulting, 6-8 week recovery kind of way.

But here's the thing. There are a lot of things out there that will turn heads. Those are the same things that are written about in all those head turning blogs. Cars, TV shows, music, celebrities, romance, success, technology, relationships, and the anomaly that is Justin Bieber, FILL the writings and readings of countless. But in a world that's falling apart, in a world where people are broken, looking for answers, searching for the piece(peace) that will fill the void they feel; in a world like this, SURELY there is something more to write about!? SURELY there is something more to talk about!? SURELY there is something more to think about!? SURELY there is something better to which our heads may be turned!?

There is. A source of peace that eclipses the things we can't understand. A gold mine of wisdom that can help us handle anything in our path. A well of love that will never, ever, run dry. Interested yet? In a world that rarely seems to make sense, and the meaning of the word "certain" can be uncertain, I think it's time we get our heads (and our hearts) turned in the right direction. His name is Jesus.

God. Creator. Savior. Redeemer. Light of the World.

You may know His name. You may have felt His presence. You may have heard His voice. You may not have. You may know the history behind His amazing grace and love. You may not. At any rate, you are invited to go on this expedition. To turn your head back to the center. Jesus is the center. He is the answer. Any feelings of brokenness or emptiness or loneliness have resolution in Jesus. And that is why we should turn our heads back to Him. In a world that so desperately needs help, Jesus will be our strength and wisdom; our leader and shepherd. He has already shown the greatest love; dying for our sins, anything that misses the mark of God's perfect way, and making a way for us to be reconciled for eternity. Now we must live in and for that same amazing love.

I invite you to go on this journey with me (as I need the learning more than most). A journey to discover God's thoughts and wisdom through prayer, Bible reading, and examining Jesus' perfect example. But more so than that. Too many people "know" more than they "do." This is an invitation to implementation. That after we discover and understand to the best of our capability God's heart, we would ACT on what we find. And when we do that, when we implement Jesus into everything we do, THEN and ONLY THEN, will things change. THEN we will find our peace. THEN we will find our answers. THEN healing can begin its daunting task. THEN the world will turn its head, back to its loving Creator. I invite you to discover, understand, and implement Jesus in ALL that you do (as will I try.) I invite you to BE a part of the revolution God IS working in this world. I invite you to live Revelatious.

You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind [both its inclination and its character] is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, and leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. – Isaiah 26:3