May 9, 2016
It’s raining, it’s pouring, and the old man is snoring. He bumped his head and couldn’t get out of bed in the morning. There is something about sunshine which invigorates the day. Drab grey and dripping clouds have a way of more than just dampening the earth. They can dampen our spirits as well.
This is not always true. When I was stationed in Guantanamo Bay Cuba as a United States Marine, it only rained about three times during the 15 months I was stationed there. Can you imagine average air temperatures of 80 degrees F and average ocean temps of 82 degrees F with blue sky just about every single day?
Familiarity breeds contempt. Same-y, same-y all the time gets boring. Getting brushed by a hurricane brought torrential rain and people out of the buildings to hug the rain. The routine was broken; the semi-arid landscape broke into bloom with the refreshing rain which nourished the parched ground.
Life, like the weather, can become grey and drab or routine. I believe the greatest cloud which can hang over our lives is a constant fascination with self. Self-absorbed people are bored people always looking for something to entertain them. My mother refused her two boys to be bored on a bright sunny day. She would look at us and say, “Why are you moping around?” We would reply: “Aw, Mom, there is just nothing to do.” “Really!” She would reply, “On a beautiful day like today you can’t find something to do? Well, great then, for I will help you out if you need me to.” We knew what that meant, like cleaning the garage, or vacuuming the house, or mopping floors. It was amazing how quickly two boys could push in their emotional clutch, shift gears, and find something to do.
How are you doing today, Christian? Are you stuck in the rut of routine? Has life lost its savor? On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your joy? Are you like the scratched vinyl record playing just a fraction of the life God meant for you to live?
Now God, like my mother, can have a way of motivating us. If our record player needs to be bumped, He can send a hurricane, or a fire, or an accident, or a host of other attention-getters to redirect our focus. But there is a better way to start the day so as to avoid the hum-drum.
Embrace the Son. Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.” Start the day with Jesus and specifically ask Him to help you to do at least one thing in this day which would bring glory to God and help somebody else. As you focus on Him and others’ needs, the cloud of self disappears in the light of the Son. The living waters will start flowing from your heart, out your belly, and will start refreshing some other parched soul. In doing this, we find the joy, purpose, and excitement of life. God did not create us for ourselves, but for Him and for others. That is how God wired us. It is the only way to spell
Have a great day,
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor John Schofield
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