One Thing You Must Make Room For in Your Life
I love it when God stirs up an unlikely bit of encouragement. Don’t you? And it’s always just at the right time.
The day began rough. I woke up late and decided there was no time for Bible study (you know that’s trouble right away!).
Work stretched endlessly. Distractions were evident with the kids home. Then worse, budget and computer issues reared their ugly heads.
Living in Light of Eternity
In this piece Ken tells of a colleague who learns an important lesson about being prepared for the end times. When the young man beat his grandmother in a game of Monopoly and began to gloat about it, his grandma cautioned him: “when the game is over it all goes back in the box. The money, the hotels, the cars—everything goes back in the box.”
Did you catch the golden nugget? It all goes back. In the end we can’t take any of it with us. And God assures us the end is near (Romans 13:12).
In that moment of remembrance, I realized I worried needlessly. I held too tightly to the things of this world. It’s fine to get tasks accomplished, but not at the expense of peace and joy and rest.
We need to leave time to savor God’s gems sprinkled in each day.
Living in light of eternity means we live wisely, holding everything with an open hand, including work, budgets, and computers (even children). [←Tweet this.] None of it will go with us when we die anyway (except prayfully our children). And God wants us with Him in heaven, not our stuff.
So, it’s important to look at our lives from an eternal perspective.
- Instead of caging the butterfly, revel in God’s lovely design as it takes flight.
- Instead of lamenting the sink overflowing with dishes, marvel at the remarkable dexterity of your hands as you do them.
- Instead of cursing technology or, in contrast, holding onto it as your lifeline, realize its value in all areas of our lives and then remind yourself of its utter irrelevance in heaven.
- Instead of questioning why something bad is happening, ask how you can grow through it.
And live the extraordinary array of possibilities in the gift of now:
- Do one thing you’ve never done before. It doesn’t have to be a big thing.
- Try a new food.
- Walk a new route.
- Try a new sport or a different piece of equipment at the gym.
- Add some spice and mix up your daily routine a bit.
- Make time to rest.
Journey this earth with the promise of Heaven always in mind. [←Tweet this.]
As Bonnie Gray in her insightful book Finding Spiritual Whitespace: Awakening Your Soul to Rest writes: “Jesus wants us to make room for our lives today.”
He wants us to make room to Live, not just do!
So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. (Matthew 6:31-33)
Reflection: What task/earthly possession distracts you the most from living in light of eternity? What’s one change you can make to focus more clearly on God?
This post is part of Bonnie Gray’s Finding Spiritual Whitespace Blog Tour,
which I’m excited to be part of. If you’re looking to find soul-rest and would like to check out Bonnie’s book, you can order one here Finding Spiritual Whitespace: Awakening Your Soul to Rest.
By His grace ≈
Julie
Find hope in your real-life struggles. We'll chase it together! I am a wife; mom of 4 (including a young adult daughter with special needs); miscarriage mom of 5; author & follower of Jesus Christ. I write, edit, speak and enjoy everything outdoors.
Join the Discussion