I had written this a while ago, and for
some reason I felt God telling me not to post it up yet. I don’t know, I just
do what the big guy says. Maybe he wanted someone specific to read it. Again I
don’t know, but I hope that you enjoy it. God Bless!
Well, the fall semester ended a little
over a week ago, and I could not be happier to finally have some time to do
absolutely nothing related to reading, writing or any form of work at all.
Or at least reading and writing relating
to school.
Very recently, because I've had so much
time on my hands, I've found myself having the opportunity to be able to read
books that I normally would not have the time for, as well as time to write
about various things.
The stack of books on my desk, as well
as the several pages of written work on both my computer and smartphone could
attest to the amount of work that I have committed to during my “leisure time.”
Unfortunately, as a result of all this
reading and writing, I began experiencing something that I don’t normally feel
during my breaks from school.
Stress. More specifically, stress about
getting things done.
I found that the faster that I tried to
complete certain things, the more stress I found myself under. I didn't mean to
bring all this stress upon myself. I just wanted to finish as many books and
write as many things as I possibly could in the short amount of time that I had
been allotted during the break. Was that really so bad?
Well in my case it was, solely because
of my intentions.
You see, reading and writing in
themselves are not something that should cause anyone stress, but when I began
placing stipulations or conditions under which I tried to do these things, then
yes, stress could definitely be a factor.
Though, this was not really the true
issue to begin with. Stress was just a fruit of the real problem that I was
facing.
What I was doing was trying to breeze
through all my reading and writing just to say that I read x amount of books
and wrote x amount of pages. Though I did get plenty out of the books I read,
and put in plenty into the things I wrote, my intentions were to race to
complete something rather than to get something out of what I was doing.
Reading and
writing aren't in themselves bad, but when I’m only doing something in
order to get something out of it, or just to get it out of the way in order to
do something else or do something better, than that is.
Many of us
focus on the end result rather on the process that it takes to get there.
Hoping and willing to get to the end of something is great and all, but that should
not be our aim. We should be focusing on the process that it takes us to get
there in order for us to appreciate what it costs to achieve it.
What I gathered very early on during my
break from school this year, was that just because we may have good intentions
to complete certain things does not mean that we do them for the right reasons.
School being a perfect example.
How many times have we completed
homework assignments or papers just for the sake of getting them done? How
much focus did we give those assignments? Was it enough to earn an A? Or, was
it just enough to get by?
For me, though the many things that I
was trying to complete was not for school, I was not aiming for a high grade at
all. In fact, though I would say that I was proud of the work that I was
producing and was “hoping” to produce, my motives were misplaced.
I was more focused about getting things
out of the way just to say that I did them rather than getting the most I could
have out of the situation; and for many of us, that’s how we go through life,
just looking to the end.
Have we ever really stopped and thought
about why we may be in a certain situation? What if those situations that we
were so eager to get out of was a place where God specifically designated for
us to be? What if we were so quick to get out of those situations that we
missed a divine appointment set up by God?
When we are so quick to get out of
something, because of stress, anxiety, fear, or anything else that is clearly
not from God, we may take ourselves out of opportunities that God has set up
for us.
You know that class that was just a
“requirement” for graduation that we were so desperately trying to get through
just to be done with it? Well in our attempts just to finish the work and let
the semester bring an end to a class that we thought we shouldn't have to take
in the first place, there may have been a person in that class that God may
have wanted us to reach. Or, perhaps there was a lesson that God wanted for us
to learn in the midst of what looked like to us as an “unnecessary waste of
time,” and because we were being a “Ms. Debbie Downer,” we were so focused on
ourselves that we missed it completely.
When we chose to focus on ourselves and
the so called “terrible” situations that we are in, we tend not to demonstrate
Godly character or for that matter see what God is doing in the midst of our
“unfortunate” situation.
In Ephesians chapter four verses one
and two, it reads,
“As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life
worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be
patient, bearing with one another in love” (New International Version. Eph.
4.1-2).
This verse tells us that we should be
worthy of the calling that we have received because of God’s unfailing grace,
but many times we don’t act according to the many blessing that God has given
us.
As a result, instead of looking at the
entirety of the scripture, “we” tend to target certain portions that “we” want
to focus on, and in “our” misguided intentions, we may take the word a bit out
of context. You know. Like we may do with opportunities and situations we are
in.
Because of this, we may want to nitpick
some parts of scripture and manipulate it to our liking. Perhaps even taking
the word “prisoner” in the wrong context.
A prisoner has few to zero choices,
because they are a prisoner, but when we act out according to how we feel
according to what the world or the day throws at us, not only are we demonstrating
our free will, but we are exerting it so strongly in the wrong way, that it
brings us the furthest away from God and his will.
Our goal to complete something is fine,
but our intentions and attitudes to how we do it may not be. The same could be
said about how I've been reading and writing lately. My focus should not be on
the end result, but on the process that it takes me to get there.
I believe Ralph Waldo Emerson said it
best, when he said “Life is a journey, not a destination.”
As Christians our destination should be
heaven, but before we get there, this life, is a continual journey and a
process.
Many times when I read a book, I think
about getting to the end of a chapter, or the end the book, because I can’t
wait to be done with the reading. But it’s in the middle of the actual reading
that I experience the most development and growth.
When we push ourselves just to reach
the end, not only are we forfeiting the growing and learning process, but we
are cheating ourselves from getting the most out of something.
The verse above says “Be completely
humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
In other words, when we are doing
something or are in a place where we wish we could be moved out of, we should
remember that we are never anywhere by mistake, nor should we act is if we
were.
If we would have been patient, humble and eager to
demonstrate God's love to those God
may have wanted us to reach in the classroom, amongst the copious other situations
that God places us in, perhaps we could have been a blessing to those around
us, instead of a hindrance and bad example.
Though the journey and process fall in
the middle of the beginning and end of things, and is very crucial to growth,
there is one middle that we should desperately try to avoid.
Allow me to clarify this.
Many times in our lives, we are posed
with a simple decision to make. Either try or don’t, but there are many of us
that fall in a very unique category known as the “or.”
Let me explain.
We don’t want to commit completely to
something because, you know, it would require work or we may be “too”
busy, but at the same time we don’t want to appear as a quitter or possibly a jerk if someone asks for
our help. As a result we fall in an in-between, located somewhere in the middle
known as the “or.”
The “or” is not a nice place. The “or” is the place where many people
believe they are safe, because if they succeed, then they accomplished
something without even trying, but if they fail, well, they didn't try that
hard to begin with anyway.
They may also “feel” that it’s a safe
place because in the “or” since
one is not trying, they experience little to no stress. How nice right?
No. It is not a nice place and it is
not a safe place.
For one, the outcome is always
uncertain, because we are leaving things to chance rather than in the assurance
of God. Second the “or” lies to
us into believing that we are saving ourselves from stress when in reality we
are cheating ourselves from an opportunity to not only succeed, but to show
God’s glory in those situations.
In the book of Revelation, chapter
three verses fourteen through sixteen reads,
These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness,
the ruler of God’s creation. 15 I know your deeds, that you are neither cold
nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! 16 So, because you are
lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth (New
International Version. Rev. 3.14-16).
If God would have made this anymore
discreet, the bible would have been a pop-up-book.
When we opt for the “or” not only do we become complacent
in our belief of what we think is safe or easy, but we chose our will
over God’s. God loathes those that seek personal comfort over doing his will,
but more often than not, we chose ourselves instead of God and in turn others
as well.
Are our intentions on trying our best
in order to be a blessing to others and in turn show the sovereignty of God? Or,
are our intentions focused on trying to remain somewhere in the middle between
our fears, stresses and complacency?
Colossians chapter three verses
twenty-three and twenty-four reads,
“23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as
working for the Lord, not for human masters, 24 since you know that you will
receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are
serving” (New International Version. Col. 3.23-24).
In other words, whatever we do, wherever we are, we should work to the best of
our ability, and with all our hearts, as if we are doing it for God.
So instead of
allowing the stresses that we bring about ourselves because of our misguided
motives and the laziness and complacency that occurs when we decide to take a
vacation into the “or,” we should remember that there is a purpose for
everything. God did not call us to ignore the people that he has called us to
reach, nor to do things out of selfish motives.
Instead he says,
14 “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill
cannot be hidden. 15 Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a
bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the
house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before
others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in
heaven (New International Version. Matt. 5.14-17).
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