I am sure there are many of us right now who are going through some struggle in our lives. It may be a large struggle – such as one that a family is struggling with – her health, or a “smaller” struggle perhaps your life schedule may be folding in on you. But, if one thing is for sure, we all tend to stress over the unknown. How will it all turn out? How many times have we cried out, “Lord, I cannot deal with this right now!”
“If you gaze too long at the myriad problems around you, you will sink under the weight of our burdens.” (Young)
I think of the orange juice commercial that has been airing. Most of them showcase a woman at her dining room table and each person goes around the table and tells her how they will be disrupting her day. For one business executive the list of disruptions included his tire blowing out due to nails falling off the back of a truck with nearest gas station 3 miles away, coming to a toll booth with no change and having a new crazy girlfriend. The commercial ends with the line -“Good thing I drank my orange juice this morning.”
Although this may be a comical commercial, it provides a great analogy to how we should treat out walk with the Lord. I picture myself sitting at my own kitchen table with the people in my life sitting across from me. My doctor may say, “Yep, you have the flu, I hope you are ready to feel crummy at work all day!” Or a creditor that tells me that he is going to call me 5 times today only to hang up once I answer, along with the weather man estimating another freezing day with a promise of ice. All of these things guaranteeing me to be cranky and resentful, but at the end I would say –“Good thing I have the Holy Spirit.”
If Florida Orange can stress the importance of drinking their orange juice, shouldn’t we accept the importance of inviting God into our lives? In Jesus Calling today, Sarah Young pulls the verse in Matthew where Peter steps out of the boat in faith to join Jesus, but quickly starts to sink when he starts to fear his surroundings. Peter tried to take control of the situation and failed. He saw Jesus right in front of him and still thought that he could control the situation, quickly becoming fearful and sinking. I can only imagine how the story would have gone if Peter kept his eyes on Jesus and walked on water longer.
Psalms 37 says, “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him, and He will act. He will bring forth your vindication as the light, and your right as the noonday. Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for Him.”
Commit your way that may sound too daunting a task to commit your way to the Lord, but how about you just start by committing this day to Him.
“I am always besides you; helping you face today’s waves.” (Young)
When you start the mornings ask yourself – Have I invited the Holy Spirit into my day?
