Romans 8:5-8
People who are ruled by their desires
think only of themselves. Everyone who is ruled by the Holy Spirit
thinks about spiritual things. If our minds are ruled by our desires, we
will die. But if our minds are ruled by the Spirit, we will have life
and peace. Our desires fight against God, because they do not and cannot
obey God’s laws. If we follow our desires, we cannot please God.
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
As
we drove home from swim lessons today, Nathan was alternately making
“Minions” sounds in the back seat and declaring that he was a
superhero! On any given day, we have Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman
riding in the back seats of our vehicle! But I can assure you, in real
life, NONE of us are truly superheroes. We like to think we are at
times…but God has a way of showing us Who is really in control! And our
efforts to resist and have things our way never work out like we hoped.
So I have learned that I cannot conquer the world…that there are
times that God wants me to step up and serve in a certain ministry or
capacity. But there are also times when He says, “That’s not your
responsibility,” or even, “You have enough on your plate…it’s time to
step back and take a break.”
I had three little ones who
informed me that they would not need naps after swim lessons and lunch.
But I reminded them that we have one more night of VBS, and a nap might
be in order. And sometimes, God tells us, “You’ve done this and that
and something else this week, so you should skip the XYZ event tonight –
or let someone else handle that project.” I can tell you from personal
experience that when I listen to God, I never regret what I “missed.”
But I have paid dearly at times when I tried to satisfy my own desires
and take on too much – even with the best of intentions.
This is
about more than just wanting to “sow wild oats” or do as you please.
Even the most well-meaning Christians sometimes overload themselves.
And while we think we are doing this to be good servants and
disciples, the truth is that often, we are just afraid of what others
will think if we say “No!”…or we simply want more than we can handle.
It’s like a kid who looks through the toy store flyer that comes at
Christmas time and says, “I’ll take this…and this…and this!” with no regard for how expensive all of those things are – or who will foot the bill!
When we try to do what we
want rather than what God wants, the road can get pretty rocky! We
wear ourselves out chasing our tails and getting nowhere… the real work
of God doesn’t get done…and everybody loses. This doesn’t please God in
the least. Like little children who must learn that poor choices and
selfishness have consequences, we must learn that serving our own
desires rather than God’s can get us into a heap of trouble,
also…everything from losses and disappointments to sickness brought on
by wearing our bodies down with too much busyness.
Spend some time with God and ask Him what He
wants you to do. Learn to run EVERY activity and option by Him
first…to determine whether He endorses your choices – or they are of
your own making. Begin to operate within God’s plans, and see how much
better things can be. You won’t actually become a Ninja Warrior or
Superman…but when you learn to operate under the power and wisdom of the
“Ultimate Superhero,” He might just make you feel like one!
©2015 Debbie Robus
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