Daily life sometimes just derails me. I am so busy building this life. I fret and stew over everything. I fret over money, over my weight, over my job. I worry about what is next. I am dissatisfied with my life and want to be doing something different. When I am doing something different, it doesn’t really satisfy. I have difficulty embracing a truly Christian life. I am on the wrong hamster wheel and I want to get on the right wheel.
James 5:7-9 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
7 Therefore, brothers and sisters, be patient until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth and is patient with it until it receives the early and the late rains. 8 You also must be patient. Strengthen your hearts, because the Lord’s coming is near.9 Brothers and sisters, do not complain about one another, so that you will not be judged. Look, the judge stands at the door!
Waiting for His coming…..We often are plagued with the “yo-yo” mentally. We are over there, then back here, then over there again. We are “double-minded”, being “tossed about” (James 1). What are some things that can help? James tells us in chapter 5 a few things. First, we are not to rely on our riches. It is easy to spend the time we live on this earth building wealth. Now, wealth can be a powerful spiritual tool, but only if it is used to further God’s kingdom. It is toxic if I trust in my money or obtain it by destroying the lives and livelihoods of others. Second, I should be about God’s business. We are to be patient and endure to the end. What do we do? We pray. We come together and bring all things before God, believing He will answer. We don’t complain about each other. We sing praises and we encourage each other in the faith, turning each other toward God.
Getting rid of negative things in our life can be difficult. When we remove something from our lives it leaves a void. In order to remove my reliance on money, I need to replace it with a reliance on God. I need to pray and praise rather than work and hoard.
How are you filling your mind?
Are you relying on the physical things of this world?
Will you fill your life with prayer and praise instead?