I am on a big health kick right now. I am trying my best to eat right and exercise regularly. The funny part about eating right is that most of the foods I enjoy the most are not at all good for me. So what I have been trying to do is substitute some of my regular ingredients for healthier ingredients and still achieve the same taste that I have come to love. I tell you that more often than not, the food just doesn't taste the same. It doesn't fill me up. It doesn't meet my nutritional need.
The same holds true in my spiritual walk. I have read time and time again in the Bible that I am to lean and depend on God. Depend on Him for everything. Verses like, 'Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him and He will direct thy path'. Proverbs 3:5-6 And what about Deuteronomy 6:6 which says, 'And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.' There are many other verses that stress this point. Take some time to dig into your spiritual treasure chest and list the verses that come to mind. If you can't think of any take some time to pray and ask God to show you where to go in His Word.
As you think about those scriptures ask yourself if you are truly leaning and depending on God for everything or have you found yourself some convenient substitutions. Now what do I mean by substitutions? For security we depend on our job. For love we depend on our spouse or our boyfriend or girlfriend. For safety we depend on an alarm system or a weapon. We substitute temporary pleasure for joy. We substitute financial stability for peace. But do these things truly provide what we are looking for in life? Do they afford us the peace and joy and love and security that we really need. I think not! All these things are temporary and the longer you live you will come to find out that all these things will come and go and you will be left empty. And as a result of your emptiness then you will turn to the Lord. So I ask you, why settle for substitutions when you can have the God of everything. The one that will provide you with a peace that surpasses all understanding. A Comforter that will hold you when the one you were depending on to love you turns his/her back on you. The one that says, 'He is your Shepherd and you shall not want'. The one who says, 'Seek Him first and ALL these things will be added unto you'. I will let you fill in the blank for what ALL is to you. The one who sees your past and forgives you. The one who sees you in your present and doesn't give up on you. The one who sees your future and prophesies that you will be great if you only trust Him.
So why do we choose substitutes over such a great and powerful, Almighty God? I cannot answer that for you. But I will challenge you to take inventory and look at all the imperfect things you substitute for a perfect God and ask yourself does it make sense? The more you rely on them, the more devastating it will be when God has to take them away from you. But when you rely on God first and those things are taken away (jobs, husbands, wives, houses, 401K's) you are not devastated because you know that God has something better. He is working it out for your good. Why not choose the real thing?!
Dear Lord,
I surrender to you. I surrender my need to be in control of everything. My need to know how everything is going to turn out. I admit that I have substituted things of this world to meet my needs instead of trusting completely on you. I want to be able to truly lean and depend on you so that I am not shaken by every little thing that comes my way. I need your help. Thank you for believing in me. In Jesus' Wonderful Name Amen.
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