 |
| A great snack! |
This little guy is funny, quirky, sometimes shy, hardly ever sad. He is a bundle of energy, a challenge to keep up with. One day, he stopped my desk and was eating a snack. I commented about how I see him eating the same snack a lot, and I noted that it must be his "favorite". By his choosing, he gobbles down his best snack choice, a pack of bread sticks with a side cup of cheese. He told me in his little-man voice, "I just like the bread sticks".
He consistently sacrifices the cheese dip to get to the prize of the bread sticks. This seems opposite of what you might expect. Who doesn't like the cheese? But I agree that he has made a great choice.
We are faced with choices on a minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day basis. Most times we just think about making choices between right and wrong. But I think for Christians, God's call for real life choices is between good and great.
We are faced with choices on a minute by minute, hour by hour, and day by day basis. Most times we just think about making choices between right and wrong. But I think for Christians, God's call for real life choices is between good and great.
I have to admit that most of my life has just been at the mediocre level. Doing what I needed to do just get by or make someone happy. Most of us just never seem to seek God at that deep of a level. We tend to stick to what is comfortable, the easy, the common. I sometimes allow the world to influence my choices so that I blend in rather than stand out. And in turn, because of those choices, I sacrifice the greater good on the mediocre altar resulting in the lukewarm.
One of my 2011 resolutions has been to go deeper in my Bible study with God. As I seek Him at every turn, my eyes have been opened on how much I have relied on my own perceived strength, knowledge, control and drive. It has been my choice. My...how deceived I was.
I strive to know knowledge but now I am seeking Truth. I have given up half-hearted worship, pity tithes and my service to please. I am choosing His greatness over my perceived good. I don't want to just live in the shadow of God's life that He has intended for me.
I am learning to sacrifice the good for the great. Giving up things that I love for what I love more. No matter the cost...no matter the sacrifice...the cost of discipleship. It's not that I was a bad person....but I admit that at times with some choices, I have swallowed the Deceiver's lie. It's God's choices that I seek.
Don't just be content with the good. Go for God-great. Don't settle for just right or wrong...God has more in mind for you than just mediocre or ordinary. It’s time for me to move past good and move up to the great.
What are you willing to give up to gain His great?
6 comments:
I wished I had written this. You are so 'write'. I need to give up the good for the great.
Lorna writes from Facebook:
"Janelle, that gave me goose flesh all over because its so true...
How many times have I opted for the chocolate chip when actually God has a full buffet waiting, I have been praying for you all over yonder side that God would begin to reveal to you to brighter and brighter, the more and more.. He is a God of excess, he loves to lavish us with love and its to have that child like faith that ACTUALLY my dad knows better.. So we slowly learn to make the choices, sometimes he isn't calling us to a dull, drab. Boring, mediocre life - else where would the adventure be, I am learning to leap in with that kind of faith.. No more tamed vision, colorless dreams, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals.. My daddy owns all of the shooting stars.. He WANTS us to dream BIG, multicolored dreams.... GO BIG OR GO HOME.. I'm trusting God for the brighter and bigger and better for you all (and for me).
This is the great adventure!!!!"
Hey Janelle! I am going to give up $200.00 worth of clothes with Christmas money and buy a passport instead and then pray about where the Lord would have me GO! :) Thank you for being such an inspiration. I thank God for you!
Wow, did I ever need this today. We are 30 days away from leaving for Thailand, where I will attend discipleship training school and my girls will begin a life most kids will never, ever experience. I'm excited, anxious, nervous and so much more, including guilty. Yes, guilty. I feel guilty for following God's calling. Why? Because opposition always comes closest to home. My dad doesn't understand why I would want to go to such a "third world" country (even though I explain to him that Thailand is extremely modern, and we will have nearly luxury accommodations, for the most part), and my son keeps rubbing it in my face that his sisters "get" to go to Thailand, even though he was invited to go with us and chose to stay in college, which I'm glad he thought out this tough decision. Although most people have been extremely supportive, these two people very close to me have caused me to doubt that stirring God placed inside me. So, even when you feel like your job may be mundane and just "day-to-day work," please know that God is speaking through you to individuals like me. You helped me today. Thank you.
"Wow...I think everybody needs to read this." says Britni from Facebook.
Heart pinching blog! If you let God fill in to the holes of your life He really does give you wings to fly. It's overwhelming! ~ Toni (from FB)
Post a Comment