We are living in a time when the world is a mess. Work life, home life, even recreational time for many people has become so rushed and stressful that the ability to enjoy the moment, or “Live for today” is being missed. There are so many legitimate concerns that people have today, that you end up planning life six months to a year down the road and this has become a way of life for too long. We need the Lord’s touch in this area of our lives because we cannot in our own strength fix this. How did it get this way one might ask? I can say with all honesty “The devil made us do it.”
We are prisoners of our most precious commodity, time. Both of my parents were fifteen years old in 1940. I always hear about when they were in their teens and early twenties and at that time not many people could afford to own a car. The majority of people walked or took the trolley to work or school and maybe used the family car if they had one for a weekend ride or vacation. It was a simpler time. The newspaper was a source of information and entertainment and not many missed reading it especially the Sunday edition. My dad worked for the major Boston newspapers for a better part of his life. This is how I know this. Today journalism is a lost art and it has become sensationalism that just stresses us out. I have not watched a news program on purpose for over a year because of this. My stress dropped at least forty percent when I let go of that.
As time went on especially in the United States, everything was being made to make things more convenient. We were able to do more things in less time and that was thought to be a good thing, so what did we do, we kept on compressing that convenience until now you can heat up a bowl of soup (organic of course) in about two minutes. Have you ever seen someone almost lose their mind because the soup in the microwave was taking too long? I saw that once and at first I agreed with the person heating their soup, because we’ve all been conditioned by this system of doing more in less time with fewer resources. Then I later thought about it and realized that soup on the stove takes fifteen to twenty minutes easily. How could someone get irritated by two minutes? That’s quick!
We are so rushed today that we have become the most over medicated people in the world. Many folks are just swallowing there problems in the form of a pill or alcohol. There is a better way and that way is through Jesus Christ. The only way that I can truly cope with the stresses of life is when I relinquish control to my savior Jesus. That in itself is not that easy because all of us want some form of control and we have this belief that relinquishing that control means we are out of control.
I’ve often heard people say that this is “The nature of the beast”. Most people that say this have no idea what they said; they just think that it sounds good. However it is the nature of satan to want control. He wants to control every aspect of our lives to the point that he is able to pull us away from God with temptation of what looks like an easier way. Trust me, there is no easy way. The idea of control being lost when we give it over to Jesus Christ is a total illusion created by the enemy of our souls. In fact we are in the most control of our destinies when we give control of our lives over to Jesus Christ, because he’s the one that knows the plan for our lives, we have no idea what the next few hours hold.
We need to begin making changes in our lives that will decrease our stress and improve our quality of daily life. I am making a conscious effort to take the long way through life; I have to break what I call the microwave mentality which is all about short cuts. If we all start to make changes that will incorporate some old school thinking and slow us down, we will better be able to enjoy our today and it’s only through enjoying today that we can have a hope for tomorrow.
If we continue to zip through today, then our tomorrow’s will come and go and we’ll have missed our potential, our purpose and our freedom by being bound to convenience which only equals stress and that is nowhere close to the purpose that God has for our lives. “Nowhere in the Bible does it say that God said that “I have for you a plan that will cause you great stress and strife” On the contrary. Jesus said in John 10:10 (Message) that “I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of”.
Won’t you take a moment now and thank God for sending his only son to die for our sins so that we could have eternal life with God the Father?
Father I thank you for all you have done in my life and the lives of those I know and love. Father without you sending Jesus, we would have no hope for redemption and it is only because you loved us so much that you sent your only son Jesus to die on that cross for our sins. I can never say thank you enough, but I can do my best to bring honor and glory to you in all that I do. I know that this is your will for all mankind and if we’ll just step into your will, we will step into our destiny. I pray father that you will bless in double portion all who read this message and help them to break through the miry clay that this world has become.
In Jesus name I Pray
Amen
God Bless You All.
"The Sharpshooter”
