I read tonight this simple yet profound statement. It said, "Life is loaded. And we thank God for it. But what if some of that load is counterproductive to the God part of things?"
Every single one of us is busy. We are a culture that is one a schedule. We prove it by pointing to our calendars, booked solid. Every day planned out to a t. If we are honest with-ourselves we are completely and hopelessly overbooked. If our lives were exposed like a mason jar that was filled with water we would see how the water of our schedules is flowing over the top each and every day.
Don't get me wrong, a good and productive life is not a bad thing. But a man much wiser than me once told me this, "A job is a good thing but it makes for a terrible God." My friend, you can fill the word "job" with anything you like. There are many things that, if we are not careful, can monopolize our time and cause our priorities to get completely knocked out of whack.
Personally speaking, I have avoided being part of a church or for that matter part of what God would have for me for over a year because I was "too busy" during the week, working long hours, and using it as an excuse to not attend on Sundays because it was the only day I could rest.I allowed busyness to hedge me from the rest of the world. Friends, that is a complete load of crap. While I haven't stopped reading my Bible, praying, or working on this blog, I can tell you that my life is much poorer for having made that decision. I missed out on things that God may have intended for me because I allowed my own jar to become filled with the wrong things. I allowed my own inadequate feelings and a sense of insecurity to rule my life and the decisions that I have made.
I can remember the day that my boss called me to tell me I was getting an offer to be promoted. To say I was excited was an understatement. My life was already forever changed a few months before when I lost my wife and I can remember thinking that God was giving me a second chance at life and something to focus on besides the sadness that I carried around. I wish that I could say I used that "second chance" to the fullest of its ability but sadly I haven't. I allowed my own vanity and pride to get in the way. I have allowed "self" to rule instead of giving God all the glory. I have found myself almost breaking my arm patting myself on the back. And as I was sitting in bed reading the words that I wrote above, I was struck with absolute conviction. It was an overwhelming sense of dread that I haven't been filling my jar with the right things, that I was missing the point of why I have been placed where I am at this time in my life. I was given an opportunity and I have squandered it.
God forgive me.....
I know that I don't deserve another chance and I don't deserve another opportunity but I trust in the grace that was given so freely. Even in the wilderness I can hear your voice calling out my name. I trust and believe in my heart that God will never leave or forsake us. He is standing right back there where we walked off and left Him. I like to imagine that God is a big guy like me that is standing there waiting to for Him to wrap His arms around me like my dad used to do when I was a little kid. The feeling of that hug is something I will always remember and always relate to the way I see God holding me up and telling me that it will all be ok.
God empty me....
My prayer is for the things that have filled my life to leak out like water out of a cracked jar until they are gone. Show me what things need to go in my life. My calendar doesn't define who I am. My position at my job doesn't define who I am. I am not Matt Mosley, Operations Manager. I am Matt Mosley, sinner. I am Matt Mosley, wretched and broken. I am Matt Mosley, lost and lonely man. It is as simple as that. The only thing that should define me is God. Nothing else. Not my title, my bank account, my car, my house, my friends, my talents, not even my name. I am nothing and no one without God. And there should never be anything that fills me but God.
God fill me....
Fill me with a desire for your word. Fill me with a love for the unlovable. Fill me with the grace that you have shown me. God, you are the filler of empty spaces and I ask that you fill me...
I don't want to look back in five, ten, twenty, or thirty years and have to wonder if the things I have done are significant or not. The pages of my calendar will be dust and the meetings long since passed but the only thing that will remain is what I did with my time and what I have done for God. When I close my eyes for the last time I want the last thing I remember to be is that I gave God everything I have and that I made the most of my time. And I don't want you to either.
We all have the ability to pour out the jar of our hearts with the help of Jesus. If we simply will humble ourselves, He will come in and tip it over, pouring out all the things that we have filled our lives with. And it will be painful but it is completely necessary. Jesus can't fill what is already full. He can't give you wisdom if you already know it all. God can't give grace where there is hate in your heart. He won't give love where there is lust for things of the flesh. Imagine for a moment with me a jar of clean water. If you pour motor oil in it, it becomes polluted. Drop a few drops of Dawn dish soap and what happens. The oil starts to dissipate. It is still there but it is weaker. The water not as hazy. But the more soap you add and the more water that is flushed in the cleaner the jar gets. Our hearts are the same way. The more Jesus that you pour into your life and your heart the more sin that gets flushed out.
Only when the jar is empty can Jesus fill it again.
Every single one of us is busy. We are a culture that is one a schedule. We prove it by pointing to our calendars, booked solid. Every day planned out to a t. If we are honest with-ourselves we are completely and hopelessly overbooked. If our lives were exposed like a mason jar that was filled with water we would see how the water of our schedules is flowing over the top each and every day.
Don't get me wrong, a good and productive life is not a bad thing. But a man much wiser than me once told me this, "A job is a good thing but it makes for a terrible God." My friend, you can fill the word "job" with anything you like. There are many things that, if we are not careful, can monopolize our time and cause our priorities to get completely knocked out of whack.
Personally speaking, I have avoided being part of a church or for that matter part of what God would have for me for over a year because I was "too busy" during the week, working long hours, and using it as an excuse to not attend on Sundays because it was the only day I could rest.I allowed busyness to hedge me from the rest of the world. Friends, that is a complete load of crap. While I haven't stopped reading my Bible, praying, or working on this blog, I can tell you that my life is much poorer for having made that decision. I missed out on things that God may have intended for me because I allowed my own jar to become filled with the wrong things. I allowed my own inadequate feelings and a sense of insecurity to rule my life and the decisions that I have made.
I can remember the day that my boss called me to tell me I was getting an offer to be promoted. To say I was excited was an understatement. My life was already forever changed a few months before when I lost my wife and I can remember thinking that God was giving me a second chance at life and something to focus on besides the sadness that I carried around. I wish that I could say I used that "second chance" to the fullest of its ability but sadly I haven't. I allowed my own vanity and pride to get in the way. I have allowed "self" to rule instead of giving God all the glory. I have found myself almost breaking my arm patting myself on the back. And as I was sitting in bed reading the words that I wrote above, I was struck with absolute conviction. It was an overwhelming sense of dread that I haven't been filling my jar with the right things, that I was missing the point of why I have been placed where I am at this time in my life. I was given an opportunity and I have squandered it.
God forgive me.....
I know that I don't deserve another chance and I don't deserve another opportunity but I trust in the grace that was given so freely. Even in the wilderness I can hear your voice calling out my name. I trust and believe in my heart that God will never leave or forsake us. He is standing right back there where we walked off and left Him. I like to imagine that God is a big guy like me that is standing there waiting to for Him to wrap His arms around me like my dad used to do when I was a little kid. The feeling of that hug is something I will always remember and always relate to the way I see God holding me up and telling me that it will all be ok.
God empty me....
My prayer is for the things that have filled my life to leak out like water out of a cracked jar until they are gone. Show me what things need to go in my life. My calendar doesn't define who I am. My position at my job doesn't define who I am. I am not Matt Mosley, Operations Manager. I am Matt Mosley, sinner. I am Matt Mosley, wretched and broken. I am Matt Mosley, lost and lonely man. It is as simple as that. The only thing that should define me is God. Nothing else. Not my title, my bank account, my car, my house, my friends, my talents, not even my name. I am nothing and no one without God. And there should never be anything that fills me but God.
God fill me....
Fill me with a desire for your word. Fill me with a love for the unlovable. Fill me with the grace that you have shown me. God, you are the filler of empty spaces and I ask that you fill me...
I don't want to look back in five, ten, twenty, or thirty years and have to wonder if the things I have done are significant or not. The pages of my calendar will be dust and the meetings long since passed but the only thing that will remain is what I did with my time and what I have done for God. When I close my eyes for the last time I want the last thing I remember to be is that I gave God everything I have and that I made the most of my time. And I don't want you to either.
We all have the ability to pour out the jar of our hearts with the help of Jesus. If we simply will humble ourselves, He will come in and tip it over, pouring out all the things that we have filled our lives with. And it will be painful but it is completely necessary. Jesus can't fill what is already full. He can't give you wisdom if you already know it all. God can't give grace where there is hate in your heart. He won't give love where there is lust for things of the flesh. Imagine for a moment with me a jar of clean water. If you pour motor oil in it, it becomes polluted. Drop a few drops of Dawn dish soap and what happens. The oil starts to dissipate. It is still there but it is weaker. The water not as hazy. But the more soap you add and the more water that is flushed in the cleaner the jar gets. Our hearts are the same way. The more Jesus that you pour into your life and your heart the more sin that gets flushed out.
Only when the jar is empty can Jesus fill it again.
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