Have you felt like you're under a lot of pressure or stress lately? While everything that has continued to go on in the world hasn't exactly helped us find a new stable life since the pandemic began, I feel like we've allowed ourselves to fall back into some of the bad habits that we had before the pandemic like overbooking our schedules, thinking we need to be busy 24/7, and being lazy about supporting each other in the ways that we saw happen in the early months of the pandemic. So as I've been thinking about some big decisions in my life that I have to make I read the words of Philippians 1:10a:
"…I want you to understand what really matters…"
Since God is so awesome He always gives us options that we can consider. Rarely is it a case of there being only one way to accomplish a goal or work through a problem. We may not love all the options that are available to us, but usually if we are willing to get creative and/or put in the effort, we can make things work out. We may not love the idea that some of those options come with a necessary waiting period or a requirement of going slow, but moving along at a slow-but-steady pace is better than not making any progress or not being able to eventually reach your goals.
Going back to today's verse from Philippians, one of the hardest parts about all those options is determining what really matters when all things are considered. Sometimes the situations in your life mean that the only thing that matters is the short term and right now and that's the option you have to choose (certainly something we experienced on a global scale during the early months of the pandemic). Other times while it may not be easy, you have to consider what will bring you more results or further along or better relationships or more success in the long run even if it means some sacrifices and challenges now.
But it's more than just about the results, because you can work your fingers to the bone with accomplishment after accomplishment and feel completely unsatisfied and unfulfilled and be really far from the plan of God for your life. In the end sure you accomplished a lot and crossed lots of stuff off whatever lists you have, but none of them were fulfilling or helped you grow as a person or really meant anything to you. Of course not everything will have the same meaning or value as some things (like for example the birth of your first child), and some things will be downright ordinary, which is to be expected. But when it comes to the big decisions, the big expenses, how you spend significant portions of your time, and the relationships you really invest in, what really matters should be a factor in those decisions. Because if that thing doesn't really matter to you or to God, how much should you be investing in it?
As we look at the last 3 months of this year and even begin to think about next year, I encourage you to spend some time with God thinking about what really matters to Him and to you as a person, partner, son/daughter, parent, coworker, neighbor, investor, and child of God. Maybe it's time for a new plan of action or new direction because the things that you're investing in right now don't really matter to you and won't help you get to the things that do matter to you.
No comments:
Post a Comment