Ever had one of those times
when you said:
"No Way"
to God?
I had one of those yesterday.
Actually, I have been having one of those for months.
So this whole weekend I have been really struggling.
I had been holding on to things.
I had been refusing to surrender.
I had been relying on my own "strength."
I had not been in the Word or in prayer.
I had allowed myself to get completely overwhelmed.
Then yesterday I got angry.
Now, I am not the type of person that tends to get really angry.
I get frustrated.
I get stressed.
But I don't often get super super angry.
Yesterday I did.
Why you ask?
Well because Jason and Danny had the audacity
to suggest that I delete my facebook.
*Insert look of shock and horror here*
Delete it?
What?
So I tried to laugh it off but then I started to get annoyed.
See, they wouldn't let me laugh it off.
They wanted to know why it was so important to me.
Why I just couldn't live without it.
So I started to think.
And steam.
And think some more.
And suprisingly I really could not think
of very good excuses I mean reasons.
"Ministry"
was the best one I could come up with.
Now, I am not in any way trying to bash facebook.
I believe that you can most definitely minister through it.
However, when it starts to consume you and your time
when do you draw the line?
So, I was just miserable.
I have realized something.
When you know that you are not doing the Lord's will
and yet you are fighting
what you know He wants you to do.
Well.
It is painful.
So this morning I woke up.
And I just felt dead.
No joy.
No peace.
Nothing.
Just spiritually dead.
So I texted Jason and asked him to pray for me.
And he called me.
As I was talking to him the Lord just put this thought in my head.
"What is an idol?"
"An idol is ANYTHING
that claims our ATTENTION
and AFFECTION
above Christ."
As soon as I thought about that another thought popped into my head:
"How do I know that something is an idol in my life?"
Here is another quote I think sums up the answer to that quite nicely:
"One way you can tell if
something is an idol
or another lover in your life
is that you are unwilling to let it go.
You can't picture living without it.
Most of us,
if we were honest,
would have to admit that
we are unbelievably attached to worldly entertainment.
Life would seem empty and bleak
if we didn't own a TV
(or a computer, cell phone, again: fill in the blank)...
Even though we have everything we would
ever want or need in Christ Jesus alone-
we still look to these other means
for the peace, joy, excitement, and refreshment
that HE HIMSELF desires to give us.
All we have is the counterfeit version
of peace and joy because
we aren't willing
to let Him give us the real thing."
All the sudden I knew what I needed to do.
"Jason," I said,
"I need to delete my facebook."
As soon as I verbally spoke those words
I can not even explain the joy and peace that just flooded my soul.
It was as if I had been holding facebook up between me and God.
I would let Him have everything else except for that.
Why?
I guess just because of the status.
I mean I got to share my accomplishments with the world on there.
It was all about me.
Selfish ambition.
Pride.
Now maybe you remember this post that I wrote a few months back.
I didn't remember until just today.
I am going to share a few excerpts from it (in italics).
To view the complete post click below:
Do I think that facebook is bad?
NOT AT ALL!
For me personally however,
it has become an idol
and because of that it needs to be taken care of
which is why instead of just deactivating it
I am completely surrendering it to the Lord
and deleting it.
It had come between me and the Lord.
Time spent on facebook was more
of a priority in my life
then time spent with my Savior.
It is so shameful to admit that but it is true!
What about other forms of entertainment?
Movies, internet, magazines, books, cell phones, fill in the blank.
Are they necessarily in and of themselves wrong
(well, within certain boundaries of course)?
No.
What are the things in your life
that maybe the Lord has been asking you to surrender to Him?
What do you think would happen if,
instead of spending hours doing
*fill in the blank*
we used that time to get to know our God?
What if we treated our BIBLE
like our cell phone
or the internet
or the television
or movies?
What if THE BIBLE
was one of the first things
that we turned to in the morning?
What if we had to check THE BIBLE
at least once every two hours a day
so as to not go through withdrawals?
What if, when we have been away from
THE BIBLE
for any amount of time we felt
we had to check it
and then re-check it?
What if we had been away from home
and THE BIBLE was the first thing
we went to when we got home?
What if THE BIBLE
was one of the last things
we thought about at night?
What if we let go of those idols
that have control of our lives and
instead threw ourselves at Jesus' feet?
What if?
This is something that is between each of us and God.
No one on earth can make these decisions for you.
I want to live a 110% Surrendered life
for my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
I read today in Galations 3:13:
"Christ has redeemed us
from the curse of the law, having
become a curse for us
(for it is written: 'Cursed is everyone who
hangs on a tree.')"
To think that He willingly became a curse for you and for me!
He died on that tree...for you and for me!
The least I can do is live for Him.
And I want to.
Oh so desperately.
For Jesus Christ alone.
I want Him to be my everything.
I want Him to be my all.
I want people to see Jesus Christ in me.
So yeah.
Things are going to be changing on this blog.
Like, I am going to be posting a lot more.
The Lord has been teaching me so much and I
just have so much to share with you all!
So stay tuned for some exciting things!
And to sum up:
Am I a super spiritual person just because I am deleting facebook?
No.
Do I think that people that have facebooks are sinners?
Uh no.
My challenge to you would be this:
really ponder what priorities you have in your life.
What are the things that fill up your time?
What do you turn to for refreshment, fulfillment, and satisfaction?
Is it the world?
Or is it JESUS?
Is Jesus Christ worth YOUR ALL
(even the little, seemingly "insignificant things")?
