Heart Attack!
I guess it makes sense when you think about it. We spend most of our lives being broken, hurt, and lied to. So along comes a God with promises, and we welcome him with closed arms and walled hearts. Our defenses are up, and I guess maybe we have a right to be skeptical. After all, if it seems to good to be true it has to be right? Some of us may not want to admit it, but trusting God is something we really struggle with. We have pain we can't explain, and fears that seem really big. Throw some of our own daddy issues on top of that and a God who calls himself father isn't really the easiest to sell out for. He asks for our heart, but it is broken and we have already given away too many pieces of it, so instead we give him our head.
Heads up!
I have a lot of useless facts in my head. Did you know most car horns honk in the key of F? Or that the average person falls asleep in 7 minutes? Guess I'm just above average. Also all polar bears are left handed.... Anyway! The point is there is a lot of information up there. There are some useful things up there too, I promise. But let's just think about those facts for a second... Are they life changing? I mean maybe you will strike up a tune in F every time someone honks their horn, try to beat the national average for falling asleep, and if left-handed, decide that a polar bear is your new spirit animal. But if you do...you are weird.
The point is, we all know a lot of things. But only if you believe something does it change how you live.
You know that you should look both ways before crossing because you believe that getting hit by a car would seriously suck.
You know that you stink because you haven't showered in three days, and you shower because you believe that you're about to go to that concert and the girl you're standing next to might be cute!
You know that stop signs with white lines around the outside are optional and so you drive right through them.
When you believe something, it changes everything. Your habits, your choices, and even your hygiene.
P.S. Stop signs are never optional.... That was a joke.... just for the record.
So do you really believe God?
Christians know a lot about God. But maybe we don't believe as much as we think we do.
I will use myself as an example because frankly I am a great one.
God says he has forgiven me, but my past mistakes and failures are on constant playback.
God says he is always with me, but my first question when things go wrong is "God where are you?"
God says he is the only thing that can satisfy me, but I keep looking somewhere else.
God says that time with him is what I should prioritize. And I will! Just one more episode on Netflix!
God says that he chose me because he loved me, but I keep trying to earn my salvation.
God says... and I guess I just don't believe him.
Sound familiar?
The longest yard... no foot... OK, six inches.
I really want to believe God. I know it is all true, but life gets real and I find myself making decisions as if I don't believe. I doubt, question, and reason my way around what I know is true so that I won't have to change the way I live. I'm tired of this head knowledge. I want it to sink into my heart. The problem is... how does that work?
Read more, pray more, screw up less? That's the opposite of the gospel!
Read more, pray more, screw up less? That's the opposite of the gospel!
It seems that the gap between the head and the heart is the most difficult six inch journey on the planet.
Waiting....
I hate not being able to fix my problems by myself. But the more I think about this gap between my head and heart, the more I realize that there is nothing I can do.
Romans 12:3 puts faith in the right perspective:
"For by the grace given to me, I say to everyone:
Don't think of yourself more highly than you should.
But think of yourself with good judgement,
According to the amount of faith God has given you."
So basically, I need to get over myself. I can't create faith in myself. It has always been a gift from God I didn't deserve. But I don't think that means doing nothing either. Maybe we should just wait. This video (by Matt Chandler) has been helpful for me. I hope it is for you:
#SixInches
So here we are, waiting on the Lord. Hoping in the Lord. Trusting in the Lord. How do we wait well?
I don't have the answers, but together maybe we have some of them.
How do you wait well? How do you approach the longest six inches? How do you position yourself underneath "the waterfall of grace"?
I would love for your feedback, advice, and wisdom.
Comment below or,
Comment below or,
Tweet or Facebook your thoughts with #SixInches
Let's wait well together.
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses,
let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely.
And let us run with endurance the race set before us.
Fixing our eyes on Jesus: the author and perfecter of our faith,
who for the joy set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of God."
-Hebrews 12:2
S.D.G
