“I think I’ll take that one, and that one, and that one. . . . Oh, and that one. . . .”
Can you think of a time lately (‘cuz we’ve all done it), that you picked a temporary reward, knowing it would affect your future goals and yet, you somehow couldn’t stop yourself in the heat of the moment? Think about the box of chocolates from Valentine’s Day when you couldn’t stop at one little luscious piece or the new outfit that had your name all over it but put you over budget for the month. Or, maybe you have a job God laid on your heart to do and you are letting daily distractions keep you from it. The list goes on.
Recently, I was flipping channels on our TV. We stopped networked programming to help us meet our monthly budget goals and started streaming shows over the Internet on our basement TV. That left the upstairs TV dependent on antennae. What a step backwards and yet, not only have we saved money but I watch shows I might not have seen otherwise. Even my kids are enjoying black-and-white reruns of The Three Stooges.
On a Sunday recently, I had a few minutes before I needed to get ready for church and I turned on the TV to catch up on local news. I stopped on a channel where a pastor was talking about Esau and Jacob. Now, I grew up with this story. I know Esau gave up his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of stew. But, this pastor made that bowl of stew sound so delicious my mouth started watering.
Genesis 25:32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?”
Esau chose stew over the future of his family. What a powerful example of looking at the temporary and wanting it so bad that we put on big, fat blinders about what it means for our future. Every day is about discernment. This overwhelms me and sends me to my knees in prayer- this idea that my singular decisions to meet the needs of NOW seriously affect the gifts God has waiting for me. It’s humbling, chilling and it hits my heart with a massive thud. God wants to give me good things. What decisions am I making today to take my future in my own hands only to sculpt a sorry resemblance of what God really wants for me?
Personally, I feel God has given me a novel to write, and maybe a series or two. And, yet, I fill my days with short-term paid writing jobs. At some point, I know I need to put them all aside and write what God put on my heart to write. Making money is not bad. But, what if this novel will inspire, encourage, bless? This novel may never be the next best seller, but what if it could be? Am I giving up the best for the temporary rewards of minimum wage writing jobs here and now? I don’t know and I pray daily. This is my journey.
What in your life resembles a really good looking, aromatic chunky bowl of stew? But wait, is there something God wants for you that is so much more?
Only through daily prayer, laying our decisions before the Lord, can the Holy Spirit gently lead. Let His almighty wisdom and discernment guide you today through prayer and reading the scripture.
Romans 14:17 “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
By Sarah Peppel, Genesis Moments.com