Last night as I was walking home from worship band practice (which if you don’t know is across the parking lot because I live literally 100 ft from the church) Gloria, a fellow band member, stopped me to show me the stars in the sky. She pointed to one bright star and a little less brighter star diagonal to the first one and said “That right there is Venus and that is Jupiter.” Then she proceeded to explain about the night sky and this long line of stars and planets that make up our solar systems orbit and organization. I stood amazed that something so jaw-droppingly complex and beautiful could be as simple as two little specks in the western skyline. I thought about how if she hadn’t pointed it out to me I probably would have just went inside and continued with my evening, unaware of the spectacular event happening outside my front door. So I stood outside my house for a little while and just stared up at the sky. I felt so small. So miniature. So unimportant in comparison to universe’s vastness. However, God quickly spoke to me and I had to go inside and grab my son. I went inside and grabbed Elliot off of his play mat. I told him I had something amazing to show him. So I took him and Selena outside to show them the stars. I pointed to the different lights in the sky and explained my newfound knowledge like I was some sort of expert. Then I held Elliot close and I told him what God said to me. “You see all of this. YOU ARE THE ENVY OF CREATION because God is jealous for you. He would trade all of this away just to have you." This morning as I was walking back to the church (once again only like 100ft from my house) for my standard Thursday office hours, God’s creation once again grabbed my attention. The early summer greeted me the moment I walked out my door. The sun is set perfectly among an era of clouds which give the air a smooth coolness. The air is perfumed with the scent of fresh flowers and all of the trees are painted beautifully with leaves of many shades of green. I decided not to go inside. I spent the morning on the bench right outside the entrance of our church. Literally from the moment I had woke up to the second I walked out my door I had lived in a world of stress. I stood in the shower watching all of my worries pile up. I stood in the kitchen of our house feeling completely overwhelmed with the finances and the bills which are piling up all around our house. We have been able to pay what we can but this week our car went into the shop again for fifth time this year. I had to make the call yesterday to tell the mechanic there is no way we can afford the repairs right now and that we are coming to get the car without it being fixed. Honestly, I spent the first hour of my day today wallowing in frustrations and fear. But as I sat and admired God’s creation it gave me perspective once again. I heard the birds chirping in the trees around me. I watched as a robin picked at the ground near the church’s garden. God reminded me of the passage in Matthew 6 which I had heard so many times “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? When I was in Uganda on a trip with SAU I met a 20 year old guy by the name of Andrew. Andrew was tall (like me) sarcastic (like me) and was truly my African brother (maybe even twin). Andrew and I got to know each other over the trip as he followed our group around and taught us about his culture. We learned that Andrew had lost most of his family and how his life was very hard growing up. I remember sitting with him and hearing his story and being brought to tears. Andrew and I were in every right the same person except we came from completely different worlds. Even though I believe that pain is relative and that much of my life I have had struggles… honestly my life seemed good when set next to his. But Andrew thought otherwise and he vocalized it to me. He said “You see my life is good because I am free. I have the clothes I have and the food that I worked to get. You were born in a cage. You are not free.” For a moment I was offended but then I was deeply ashamed of myself. I remember going back to where we were staying and seeing all of my clothes and being ashamed of how many shirts and pants I had brought on this trip. I had a bag full of things that were mine and most of them were disposable because of the closets full I had back at home. Andrew’s words struck to my heart because I realized how my possessions and my material life were truly a cage. I find it amazing how often in my life I am not content. I believe that this is the struggle of our society as a whole and that it has almost been branded into the American DNA. We are never satisfied with what we have but always seeking more and wanting more. We seek out material things and we seek out the career that will help “store up in our barns” the most. We buy into the fact that we need what we cannot afford and it truly takes a toll our our souls. Many of us are wealthy but our souls are living in poverty. Much of this is what I have felt recently. I forget what has been so freely given to me and I forget all of the blessing because I am so caught up in where things come up short or “just enough.” I refused to trust God when the going get rough and spend so much of my time worrying about things that honestly are outside my control. As I sat on the bench this morning and listened to the birds chirping I realized that I have been seeking the wrong thing. In Matthew 6:33-34 Jesus finishes the thought by saying “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” I realized that I did not have to live my life in a cage. I did not want to live a life walking among the beauty of creation and ignore its promise. I want to seek after the promises of God and his plan. I wanted to believe the truth that God reigns over everything and that he is able. That the God who breathed the galaxies and cares for the sparrows is more than capable to care for my needs. That above everything he is jealous for me and desires me. So my prayer is that you would know that you are the ENVY of all creation and that like me that you would seek first the kingdom and allow God to take care of the rest. I pray that you would be free from the enslavement of your possessions and that the things you own would not own you. I pray that you would see how he has already blessed you and be thankful for what you have rather than striving for what you want. Please feel free to comment with stories and encouragement that relate. Contact me if you want to talk or chat more about the subject matter. God Bless.
1 Comment
Mark May
6/5/2015 07:12:53 am
The way to walk through a demanding days is to grip My hand and stay in close communication with Me. Let your thoughts and spoken words be richly flavored with trust and thankfulness .
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AuthorMy name is Andrew May. Archives
May 2017
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