The World Around Us

Lazy day yesterday after a full Saturday, including a six-mile run in 58:19. Cold day with my nose running like a faucet, but kept it under my desired 10-minute mile pace and finished without walking, so mission accomplished. 

Today is my second Monday of fasting, looking forward to the extra focus and prayer that I'll need to make my way through that. My prayers for Chad and Brian as they fast with me today.

Had a couple of separate conversations yesterday thinking about the role of the world around us in our lives. One was just my morning verse text that I share with a friend, but the other was a different friend who lost a family member and made a Facebook post about how much he loved and missed her. I sent him a message about how much I appreciated him displaying his love so freely and unashamedly for others to see, and he responded that he could not understand how a loving God could take her away from him so soon.

These two conversations have been on my heart since each of them happened. The world around us is difficult--very difficult at times. As humans, we are erratic: we sin regularly, we let each other down, and we fall prey to our own flaws. And so, if we rely only on our fellow humans to know how to feel, we are bound to be disappointed. As part of my first conversation yesterday, I shared this verse:

"Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble... He does not endure. Do you fix your eye on such a one?" --Job 14:1-3

Of course, we can not live independent of human contact, and we are not meant to. But when we rely solely on the people around to decide how we should feel, we are bound to be disappointed. I am sad to say that I let people down all the time--I fall short in the way that I should treat and help others. And likewise, I have been let down by others, just as we all have. The world around us lets us all down from time to time because it is fleeting and temporary. But whatever path we are led on and whatever difficulties we face, God is leading us by the hand, helping us to navigate those ups and downs. The world and people around us can be shaken and will eventually fall away, but only God is permanent and immovable.

Today's challenge: Take a moment to ask who you are looking to when deciding the state of your life. Are you relying on the thoughts and actions of others or their opinions about you? If so, ask yourself who you are to God, and fix your gaze on Him. This is easier to say than do, and your reliance on the opinions of others will not just fall away automatically. But with practice, we can all let God be our focal point.