I’m 40. I’m supposed to gain weight. I’m supposed to become less active because I’m getting older (I say this because I told myself this exact thing when I turned 40). I don’t really need to work any harder at my job. As long as I do enough to get by and keep it that’s all that matters. It’s ok that I haven’t been a very good friend because some people haven’t been good to me either. It’s no big deal that I am still holding that grudge against that person because someone held a grudge against me once too. I am good enough at my sport that I don’t need to work hard to get better. I’m already good enough.
Does any of this sound familiar? I’m going to guess that at some point we have all been this way about some of the things mentioned above. It’s human nature to get complacent and not work at getting better at whatever we are involved in because things are alright the way they are. Even though we could be better, we get satisfied.
I talked last week about being in a rut. Here’s the deal! We don’t have to settle. We don’t have to settle for being 40 so we just stop taking care of our bodies. We can find the time, the energy, and the resources needed to change the way we feel about ourselves. We CAN, it is just a matter of if we WILL. We can eat better and find time to exercise if we want to. We don’t have to settle for being mediocre at our job because we don’t want to work any harder. Instead of doing that, we need to work hard to be the best we can be at it. If we are that unhappy with it, we need to find another job that gives us some fulfillment in life. We don’t have to settle with being bitter and unhappy because we are holding a grudge against someone. Those feelings build up and result in a miserable life for us. Why would we do that to ourselves? Some things are hard to forgive and forget. I get it. But, what if God felt that way about us? What if he held on to things we do to wrong him? How would we feel about that? If we are part of a sports team or a team at work, it is our responsibility to that team to work hard to get better and be the best we can be for our teammates. There’s nothing worse in sports or work than a bad teammate.
While all these things mentioned above are not good for us, they can lead to an area of complacency that can be devastating to us. These other things can lead us to be satisfied in all areas of our life, including our Christian walk. That can lead down a path of destruction if we aren’t careful. If we are not getting in the word and working hard to be a better Christian every day, then we are going nowhere. I talked this past week with our campers about waking up each day and praying to God to help us win each day. We have to do that. Satan is waiting to pounce on all these things mentioned above and many more. He is just waiting to devour us when we let our guard down. We can’t let that happen. We can’t settle for being complacent as a Christian. Believe me, I know firsthand. I’m sure everyone can relate to that (I don’t think I am the only one anyway). I’m going to guess there are people reading this that are in this situation right now. There are people right now that are in that rut. I was just a week ago. It’s hard to get out of, and that’s exactly what satan wants. Everyone needs their battery recharged every once in awhile. It’s funny how God always has the right timing for this. He surrounds us with the people and circumstances to make our situation better if we just open up our eyes and follow where He leads us.
Proverbs 10:4-5 says, “Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. He who gathers crops in summer is a wise son, but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.” Life is full of opportunities. Each day is a chance to grow ourselves and share God’s word. It’s easy to just sit back and hope someone else does it. But that’s not what we are called to do. We must take advantage of the opportunities God gives us to be His disciples.
We can’t look too far ahead and we can’t dwell on what’s behind us either. As Christians, we have to live in the moment. We have to win each day. We have to be on guard at all times. Satan doesn’t like it when we go to church camp, church, or other activities with other Christians. He doesn’t like it when we open our Bibles and study. When we do those things, satan will wait until just the right time and try to scoop us up when we are vulnerable. He will throw everything he can at us to try and bring us down. Wake up each day and pray to God to help us fight off satan and win each day. In order for us to be able to accomplish that, we have to give it all to God. We have to give him our everything. We have to let go of things ourselves, and trust the Almighty. What we find when we do that is things get so much better.
I challenge you to give everything you have to God. Stop being satisfied. Stop settling for less than our best in all areas of our life. Give up our stubbornness of wanting to be in control. Let go and give it to God. It’s such an awesome feeling when we do this. The burden of us trying to do everything ourselves is lifted and we feel such a freedom. Wake up each day and give it all to God and pray for Him to help us WIN EACH DAY!!!