We love to cling to this little verse in I Peter that is quoted in the photo above but there’s context to this verse we dare not ignore.

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𝘏𝘶𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘭𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘪𝘯 𝘥𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦: 𝘊𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮; 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘉𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘣𝘦𝘳, 𝘣𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘨𝘪𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘵; 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘢𝘥𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘭, 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘪𝘰𝘯, 𝘸𝘢𝘭𝘬𝘦𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘥𝘦𝘷𝘰𝘶𝘳: 𝘞𝘩𝘰𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥𝘧𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩, 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘧𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘵𝘩 𝘤𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘑𝘦𝘴𝘶𝘴, 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘺𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘢 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘦, 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵, 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘩, 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘯𝘨𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯, 𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶. 𝘛𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘭𝘰𝘳𝘺 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘰𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳. 𝘈𝘮𝘦𝘯.
(I Peter 2:6-11)

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From reading this verse in context we know that we must humble ourselves (which evidences itself through our submission to God’s will and our obedience to His Word) and we must dedicate ourselves to being sober and vigilant, understanding that we have a very real enemy who seeks to devour us whom we need to resist. We also see here that we can expect some suffering (“after ye have suffered a while”).

We can’t rip a verse out of context and claim its promises without understanding God’s complete thought regarding that promise.

There have been a lot of things going on in our lives here in my world and, if I am honest, I feel just a bit numb. Yesterday, my husband and I celebrated 36 years of marriage and I told him I think we’ve had more to work through and process in 2024 than we’ve had altogether in our entire 35 years previously. Not really, but it’s been quite a year for us.

Even the last two days were filled with an unexpected trial as we faced some unexpected circumstances that came flying at our family rather out of the blue.

But here’s the thing…

God’s care was so evident in the midst of it and through it all. His mercies were abundant and His care so obvious.

So what does God’s care look like? Does it eliminate all our financial woes, relationship struggles, illnesses, death, and all of the other trials and troubles we face? Of course not. These things happen to us all in one way or another. We live in a fallen world.

But we are not forsaken in the midst of them. And that’s the key.

However, we must understand that this promise is only for those who live humbly before God. They are for those who are willing to submit to and obey Him. The promise is for those who accept what they cannot change.

The pain is still there, the fear and the anxiety still loom over our heads. But, in the midst of them, God is with us.

I’ve written this before but I was struck so profoundly by something Elizabeth Elliot said many years ago: With acceptance comes peace.

As long as we are fighting against God, we will have no peace and we will not feel nor notice His care.

But when we surrender our will to His, these things become so obvious we cannot imagine how we missed them.

My life has been an ongoing project of learning to surrender to God when I just don’t want to. Sometimes this comes easily. Many times it’s a real struggle. I want to cry “this isn’t fair!” Or “why me?” more often than not. I have not learned to “instantly” surrender. But I do know that this is what God desires of His children. I do know that this is a condition for those who will reap the reward of His generous promises of peace and joy in the midst of trials.

Life is not easy. And we are told in scripture we will suffer. But we are also told that it is just for a while. This is not our eternity. This is not our forever.

As we humble ourselves, as we are sober and vigilant, as we resist the devil…then we know that God will not leave us in a place of suffering but He will make us perfect, establish us, strengthen us, and settle us. He has promised. All glory and dominion are His. He has the power to fulfill His Word and He will do it.

Oh, how I love God’s Word. It has such a grounding effect and helps us find perspective when the world just doesn’t make sense. But we must read and study it in context. We dare not pull verses out of context or we will find ourselves disillusioned and untrusting of God and His Word.

May we march on, trusting our Heavenly Father with faith in His Word, as we wait for the appearance of our dear Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!

I’ve been thinking a lot about seeking God lately. I keep running across this term in my Bible. What does it mean? How do we do this? What are the results if we do this? What if someone who claims to be a Christian is not seeking God? What then? Many questions have come to my mind as I have continually run into this little phrase “seek God”. For, in the end, this is our ultimate concern.

I won’t be answering all of those questions in this post today. I just don’t have the time to do an entire study justice. However, I did want consider this phrase and get us all thinking a bit about what it means. Hopefully, this will get us thinking about what place this ultimate concern holds in our own lives, as evidenced by our daily choices and decisions, both great and small.

I went through the Bible this morning, looking at all the verses in which the word “seek” is used. Many were in reference to seeking God. Others were in reference to specific happenings. And some were in reference to what not to seek. Today, I’d like to take a look at a few of the verses about seeking God and then at a few of the verses about what not to seek. I think this will be a helpful study for me and, hopefully, for you, too. I am not giving the verses in any particular order.

Here are a few things we find from scripture regarding our search for God–

1. If we seek Him, we will find Him.

We are promised in God’s Word that if we search for God, we will find Him. This is a guarantee and not some treasure hunt where we may or may not find the treasure. God has told us that we will find Him, if we seek Him.

But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul. (Deuteronomy 4:29)

The Lord is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you. (2 Chronicles 15:2b )

And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. (Jeremiah 29:13)

And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. (Luke 11:9)

That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: (Acts 17:27)

2. If we seek God, He will forgive our sins and give us life!

We are also promised forgiveness of sins if we seek God. But, wait a minute, we may think…what about all of those people who are seeking God without knowing Jesus? The answer to this is clear: They aren’t actually seeking the One True God. They are seeking their own manmade god. God has very specifically told us in His Word how we are to seek Him. If we don’t submit to and obey Him, we are not truly seeking Him. This is a very important distinction to make.

If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever. (Psalm 22:26 )

For thus saith the Lord unto the house of Israel, Seek ye me, and ye shall live: (Amos 5:4)

3. Those who seek God are never forsaken by Him.

God promises never to forsake those who seek Him. Let’s meditate on that promise for just a moment. Isn’t that simply amazing?

And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. (Psalm 9:10)

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. (Matthew 6:33)

And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knoweth that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:29-32)

4. If we seek God, we are blessed and we can expect good things from Him.

Life is sometimes hard for God’s children. It is simply not true that we get to bypass trials when we become one of God’s dear children. We still face trials, troubles, disease, persecution, and, yes, eventually, death. I am so saddened when I see Christians believe that we can escape these things if we have “enough faith”. Oh, what a lie from the pit of hell! God has never promised us escape from these things. However, He does promise us blessing and good things. What are these things, if they are not keeping us from trials? We know from God’s Word (and through our own experiences and the testimonies of others) that the blessing and good things come in the form of peace, grace, mercy, and other priceless intangibles. God truly does not forsake those who seek Him.

The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good thing. (Psalm 34:10)

Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. (Psalm 119:2).

The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. (Lamentations 3:25)

5. Seeking God gives us great cause to rejoice!

Perhaps we do not feel like rejoicing today. Could that mean that we are seeking after our own selfish desires instead of seeking God? Yes, of course, that is what it means. For seeking God will always give us cause for rejoicing. It is sobering for me to think how often I am lacking in joy because of my own selfishness. Anyone else out there relate??

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. (1 Chronicles 16:10)

Let all those that seek thee rejoice and be glad in thee: let such as love thy salvation say continually, The Lord be magnified. (Psalm 40:16)

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. (Psalm 105:3)

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What else do we find from scripture regarding our seek for God? There are a few important things to consider–

First, we never seek God without Him stirring our hearts. We cannot do it on our own. Romans 3:11 and Psalm 14:1 both tell us that there are NONE that seek after God. John gives further elaboration to this by letting us clearly know that no man can come to salvation unless the Father draws him (John 6:44). This is a hard truth, but it is throughout scripture and we dare not ignore it nor try to change it simply because we don’t like it.

Second, we tend to seek God in our affliction. Hosea 5:15 reminds us of this. How often does a trial or trouble cause us to seek harder after God? These things tend to soften and mold the hearts of true believers.

Third, there will be a time that we cannot seek God. Isaiah 55:6 tells us that we are to seek Him while He can still be found. This must mean that there will be a time when He can’t be found. I have not studied this passage at length but I do know that when death comes, it will be too late to seek Him. It must be done while we still have breath. It is dangerous and exceedingly unwise to put off seeking the Lord because death can strike at any moment.

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And, finally, we find in scripture the things that people seek after other than the Lord. These are the things that distract us and keep us from a whole-hearted seeking of God.

People seek after sorcery and signs.

The Word of God is where we learn to know God. But, for so many, this is not enough. Even today someone showed me the testimony of someone who had “encountered Jesus” through a new age method and yet they believe this is actually Jesus. God tells us in His Word that these things are not of Him. He tells us that we shouldn’t need signs. Blessed are they that believe without seeing. Blessed are they that trust in His Word. The Bible is sufficient for all we need in our Christian life. But it doesn’t always “feel good”, does it? It doesn’t always seem like enough to a generation that longs for good feelings and experiences. May we be astute and discerning as we travel the road called “Christianity”, for it is literally overflowing with landmines of heresy and new age practices and, yes, outright sorcery.

Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God. (Leviticus 19:31)

A wicked and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given unto it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas. And he left them, and departed. (Matthew 16:4)

People do not seek God because of their pride.

I am not sure there is anything that can kill our search for the One, True God quicker than pride. It is pride that insists that we can stand righteous before God based on our own good deeds. It is pride that says we don’t need a Savior. It is pride that demands its own way of salvation and arrogantly gives its own definition of what living the Christian life looks like. Pride is truly a death blow to a genuine seeking of God.

The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts. (Psalm 10:4)

And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face: and they do not return to the Lord their God, nor seek him for all this. (Hosea 7:10)

People seek after their own desires rather than seek after God.

Oh, how many people believe that Christianity is all about fulfilled dreams and finding personal purpose? This is not biblical Christianity at all but it is a counterfeit that uses the same terms and names. When we replace seeking God with seeking our own good, we have also replaced true religion for false religion. This comes in many ways. Some seek after the things of this world–fame, popularity, wealth. Others prioritize health, family, even church duties over seeking God. Some just simply love their sin and aren’t willing to give it up. Many love entertainment that God hates and this keeps them from a whole-hearted seeking of God. We all have that one thing we desire that keeps us from seeking God with our whole heart. The key is to be aware and to pray to God for help. We cannot turn our backs on these things without His help.

The following verses remind us that seeking God and seeking self are
absolutely incompatible—

And the cares of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of other things entering in, choke the word, and it becometh unfruitful. (Mark 4:19)

Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. (Romans 6:12)

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. (Galatians 5:12)

Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:2-5)

Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:12)

Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. (James 4:4)

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; (I Peter 2:11)

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We will never seek God perfectly. We will fight sin and our fleshly desires for all of our lives. The key is that there is a battle. For no battle signals that there is no life. May we never give up the fight as we strive to seek God with our whole hearts, believing in God’s Word that, in doing so, it will yield much blessing and rejoicing in our lives.

For seeking God is the ultimate concern for all who would claim to know Christ.

The other week I wrote about the sparrow that was building a nest in one of my ferns. As I’ve grown older I’ve come to appreciate birds in a whole new way. They are such lively little creatures, bringing both music and color to our world.

I really enjoyed watching that mother bringing her babies food and doing her best to protect them. One morning I came out to find my porch full of…dirt. Yep, the baby birdies were growing and they were doing what all birds do.

That is the one thing I will say about birds. If you have them, then you will have the dirt that goes with them. At least if your porches and outdoor furniture and anything else sit near trees and other places birds like to land.

As I scrubbed off that porch I had to think about how life is like that. You can’t have the good without the bad. If you have birds around, then you also have that inevitable disadvantage. If you have kids, the joy comes with both work and frustration. If you have a spouse, you get their good side and their bad side. It’s an imperfect world and this principle is woven throughout our lives, isn’t it?

It’s true for any relationship and for any job. It’s true for our hobbies and for our past times. Life just doesn’t come as 100% pleasant.

It does seem as if we, in our culture, are searching for 100% pleasant, however.

And so we do all we can to make this happen. Can you think of things you do that make your life more pleasant or comfortable in the moment? Oftentimes these things bring unpleasantness in the future.

For example, it is unpleasant to discipline children in the moment. But to not to discipline them will most likely yield mountains of heartbreak and unpleasantness later on. It is also unpleasant to have the hard conversations with our spouse. But to let the bitterness and frustration grow will only grow the unpleasantness, until many times that marriage is destroyed. It is unpleasant to say no to unhealthy food or to get up off the couch to exercise, but that, too, yields its inevitable results.

Sometimes we just have to do the hard thing. We have to do the unpleasant thing. The unpleasant often brings the pleasant. We can’t have one without the other. It’s just how it is in this world.

It’s hard to imagine living in the Garden of Eden where this was just not the case. The utopia we long for was experienced by Adam and Eve for just a little while.

The awesome thing to remember is that we, if we are God’s own redeemed child, have that to look forward to.

I love this passage from the book of Revelation—

And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (Revelation 21:1-5)

And this one—

And He shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him: And they shall see His face; and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall reign for ever and ever. And He said unto me, These sayings are faithful and true: and the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to shew unto His servants the things which must shortly be done. (Revelation 22:1-6)

What a reminder that one day we will only experience the good and the perfect! This world is not our home and it is just temporary. Satan and sin will not reign forever. God’s words are faithful and true.

“100% Pleasant” will be our portion one day. God says in the Psalms that at His right hand are “pleasures forevermore” (Psalm 16:11). Just think about that. We get a little taste of that here on earth when we are saved by faith in Christ and go on to live for Him. But how magnificent to think that our future in glory will be filled with pleasure, with both sin and sorrow gone forever!

In the meantime, let’s press on and work through the unpleasant and the hard. Let’s recognize that in order to fulfill our calling—whether it be parent, spouse, employee, adult child, church member, or whatever God has called us to do—will require diligence and patience and, yes, sometimes sorrow. But along with all of these usually comes a large portion of joy. And, for that, may we be grateful.

As I sit here on my porch a little sparrow scolds me (see photo above.) She decided to build a nest in one of my hanging ferns and it frustrates her greatly each morning as I make my way outside with a cup of coffee in my hand and two dogs as my companions.

She titters and she flies around near me, often landing quite close by. Occasionally, she will fly into her nest for a brief second before her fear overtakes her and she leaves again.

The only thing this tiny bird can do is titter and scold. The dogs and I are so much bigger and stronger than her. She is limited and she is powerless.

And so she does the only thing she can: She makes a loud fuss. She feels like her home and her babies are in danger and she does the only thing that she can do.

I think it is fair to say that most of us Americans (and many of you abroad, as well, as you are facing your own country’s political upheavals; they are certainly not limited to America) are feeling like our home is being threatened.

There was a debate last night that was surreal, quite honestly. Can it possibly be that these men are the only two options to lead this great country?!?

Something just doesn’t seem right, does it? Something seems…intentionally planned… But that’s a subject for another day.

But many are upset and are desperately trying to save our country. We fuss and we fret as we see the unwelcome changes to our “home” taking place, finding ourselves powerless to do a thing to fix it. (I am not saying you shouldn’t do what you can, but, at the end of the day, without God’s intervention, we are powerless to change the direction of where this country is headed. And should we expect God to intervene when He has laid out a very specific plan for the last days and it cannot include an strong, independent country such as America was? We have to yield our will and desires to His.)

The sparrow did not pick a wise place to build her home. If she wanted peace and a carefree time of raising her babies, she should have built it in a tree somewhere. But, instead, she built her home in a fern on my porch.

What is going on here and in so many other countries, as well, is a reminder of how many of us have done the same thing. We have “built our nest” in the wrong place. We have set our affections on our earthly, temporal homes rather than on our future, heavenly home.

The Bible says we are but pilgrims and sojourners passing through this world (I Peter 2:11). Our minds are to be set on things above, not on the things of this world (Colossians 3:2).

I know that is so much easier said than done in the midst of all this political chaos and confusion, but, as believers in God and His Word, we know that what looks like chaos is just part of God’s plan coming to fruition. What looks like confusion is not confusing to God.

We don’t have to get worked up as believers as we see the world’s system falling and failing across the world. This had to happen for the end to come as God has revealed it to us in His Word. And it’s not a bad thing. It just means we are getting closer and closer to the rapture and to our final, glorious home!

What I am not implying here is that you shouldn’t vote or hold office or try to make changes to policy or to the culture. If you believe God has called you to do these things, then, by all means, do them.

What I am saying is that these things should never overtake our first calling as believers, which is to share the Gospel and to make disciples for Jesus Christ.

What I am also saying is that we must, of all people, not titter and fret and scold as we wait to see what happens. God’s got this. He has a plan. It might not be our plan and, in fact, it probably isn’t. But He knows what He is doing and we can rest in Him.

As for God, His way is perfect:
the word of the LORD is tried:
He is a buckler to all those that trust in Him.
(Psalms 18:30)

As I sit here listening to this sparrow (yes, she is still scolding me), I am reminded of that precious passage in Matthew 6—

Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
(Matthew 6:26-27)

Not only does God have complete control of Kings and Kingdoms, Presidents, and Prime Ministers (Proverbs 21:1) but He also sees and cares for the small sparrow. How much more does He care for His own dear child? If we are His, we can rest in His abundant promises for this present time and for our future.

In the midst of whatever lies ahead, we have God’s promise that He will walk us through. We do not have the promise that it will be easy or fun. We do not have the promise that we will continue in the lifestyle we have become accustomed to. We do not have the promise that we won’t experience disease or death. But we do have the promise that God will walk us through whatever lies ahead. And we have His promise for a glorious future for all eternity.

So let’s not despair. We serve the mighty King who reigns over all. The King of Kings who never makes even one mistake. We will be just fine, no matter what happens in this crazy world of ours, because we are His.

I was reading a book recently that told the true story of a woman named Lara. Born in Kazakhstan in the middle of last century and living most of her life in Ukraine, her life was filled with things we can’t even imagine. Lack of food, lack of clothing, lack of shelter, and, perhaps most importantly, lack of love. And, yet, in her heart, she always knew there was a God and He so lovingly led her to Himself.

Today I’d like to write about something specific that happened to her and delve a bit into the spiritual lesson that can be learned from it.

A few years after she got married, she and her husband found a small, dirty house that was said to be haunted. This made it cheap enough for them to afford and they bravely moved forward. They lived in that house for a long, long time, through the births of many children and then through the untimely death of her husband. Through all this time, Lara just didn’t feel well. She spent weeks in the hospital, trying to recuperate, only to come back home and eventually end up back in the hospital to recuperate again. It was a mysterious illness with seemingly no cause.

Until one day…

She and her son-in-law were in the attic working on something that needed fixing when they came across something they had never realized: There was mercury stored in the attic.

They started putting the pieces together and realized that she was suffering from severe mercury poisoning and that her husband’s death may have also been from that.

The house was condemned (and no home insurance!) and the whole family was taken immediately to the hospital. (If you want to read the rest of this story, I’ll put the link for the book at the bottom of this post. Definitely worth reading!)

But I want to reflect a bit on that mercury poisoning. The family was being slowly poisoned and did not even know it. It was affecting their health and yet they were in complete ignorance as to why they weren’t feeling well.

In light of this, my mind was led to the subject of entertainment. I have been thinking a great deal about its role in the lives of Christians. Time after time, I am flummoxed at the choices of those who say they love Christ. Time after time, I find myself puzzled at my own choices, specifically back in the day, as someone who claimed to love Christ.

Meanwhile, my appetite for the Word was not great. And my attitude towards prayer was apathetic. My passion for worldly movies and ungodly music and spiritually unhealthy fiction far outweighed my desire for scripture or anything holy.

I am so grateful to God for His continual conviction to my heart in this area, as one by one, He began to show me the poison I had been filling my heart with. It was a slow and arduous process and it continues to this day. But, oh so slowly, I’ve been ridding my life of the mercury that poisons my soul and so greatly affects my spiritual health.

But none of it could have begun without one specific choice: I chose to surrender my entertainment to my Lord.

Oh, that was so very hard. And I had to do it over and over again. And, in fact, I continue to do it to this day. Only recently, I was watching a series someone recommended to me. I was enjoying it and yet there was this niggling that wouldn’t go away. The series was filled with lies about God. Lies that specifically went against scripture. The Holy Spirit just kept working on my heart until I finally surrendered. It saddens me that it took me too long to get to the place of surrender.

I am not sure we can even get to a place of conviction until we take the first step and say, “Lord, I surrender my entertainment to you. I ask you to show me the truth about what I am watching, what I am listening to, and what I am reading. I ask you to take away my taste for anything that is displeasing to you.”

It isn’t instant, but I promise you that as you start removing the mercury from your spiritual life, you will be surprised at how much more spiritually healthy you feel. It’s quite amazing, really.

I think many of us are spiritually poisoned and we don’t even realize it. We grow lazy and watch movies and shows that are filled with the things God hates. Or we get caught up in a book series filled with sorcery and magic. Or we just turn on the radio to any old channel. We dismiss the idea that these things affect us in any way.

Satan knows this. He knows that Christians think entertainment is simply just that: entertainment. What he also knows is that most entertainment has some level of mercury hidden within that is specifically designed to deaden our consciences and to make us apathetic towards the things of God.

Oh, how important that we consider the consequences of our entertainment choices. I am a living, breathing example of what happens when you surrender this to the Lord.

I still find myself utterly amazed at how the Lord took away my desire for ungodly music. It’s like my own personal little miracle. I know I have mentioned this before but I am going to do so again for any new readers.

I LOVED—and by that I basically mean “was addicted to”—rock music. Of both the secular and Christian varieties. The harder the better. Eventually I became convicted that secular was definitely displeasing to the Lord. That wasn’t too painful. But, oh, the Christian music that was patterned after the world was a tough one.

Finally, I threw my hands in the air and said, “Lord, I can’t do this. I need your help. If you want me to stop listening to this, can you take away my taste for it?”

And HE DID!

It wasn’t instant and it wasn’t easy but HE DID. Today, I just don’t even desire the ungodly music I had been so addicted to for so many years.

And as I have, very intentionally, begun removing the mercurial entertainment from my life I have found that, little by little, God has reawakened my hardened conscience and given me a hunger for the Word that I never had before.

And so I heartily encourage you to also turn your entertainment over to the Lord. Trust me, I know it’s hard. And I know it’s unpleasant to even consider. But I also know how incredibly rewarding it is. And I definitely know you won’t regret it!

*Lara’s Hunger, written by Harold Troyer. You can find it here.