Seek First and Don't Worry About the Rest

Have you ever had one of those days where you just can't get any traction with your to-do list; where every time your phone vibrates with a new email or text, your list of things not getting done just gets longer and longer; then you think about your bank account and say a four letter word and begin thinking to spring break and how you don't have any plans nailed down; deep down you are scared that you are going to waste that precious week and there are only so many opportunities for freedom like this left? Of course you have. They happen and they are happening.

My scatter-brained-state peaked as I was on eighth street, headed for my weekly fraternity meeting. I knew I wouldn't be able to focus on anything if I went to meeting, so I hopped on I-35 and called my sister to see how life was treating her. After a 20 minute heart to heart, the dust in my mind began to settle and my heart rate slowed to a normal level where I was able to process life a little more clearly.

What I realized after talking to my sister is that nothing in life is certain and the joy that I find in my relationship with friends, the fun that I have with my girlfriend, the comfort that I find in being with my family and the satisfaction that I find in a job well done is totally robbed when I put my value and worth in people and accomplishments, not in the unconditional love of Christ. As I have been in the word daily for the past 2 months, I have realized that nothing in life is certain except for the truth that God has given us in his Word and the cross where Christ proclaimed his love for us. Friends let us down from time to time, relationships with significant others aren't always peachy, family members are sometimes in far away places and there is always someone else working to outshine our accomplishments. What lasts is our identity in Christ.

In John, 1:12-13, we are told "Yet to all who receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave them the right to become children of God-children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

Not only does God call us his very own children, but then, in Romans, Paul asks, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither present nor the future nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

That, my friends, is the Good News. The key to finding joy in your relationships and satisfaction in your work is first and foremost knowing that you are God's and that his love is a permanent fixture-it doesn't change like everything else in this world. The second key to claiming joy is taking the wisdom found in Matthew and realizing that "who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?"

I leave you with this, seek first His kingdom and everything you need will be given to you. Everything.

For Such a Time as This

With the start of the new year I have made a few resolutions (I hate that word, because you already assume I won't keep them), two of which tie together: Resolution 1: Read through the entire Bible in 2012, using the M'Cheyne Reading Plan and Resolution 2: Blog once a month. Hopefully my life experiences will be informed by the scripture that I am filling my heart with on a daily basis, but I cannot promise that a few jokes of the sarcastic variety and TFM nature won't slip in there from time to time.

With that said, I have been in the word for almost the entire month of January and honestly, not much has clicked with me thus far. Part of my problem is that some of the scripture I am almost too familiar with, to the point where I almost blow it off and fail to stop and really try to soak it in, and the other half of scripture I have been reading in the Old Testament is often times bogged down by ancient civilizations I don't understand and the lineages of king's who don't seem relevant. Nonetheless, over the past few days I have been in the book of Esther and her story has captivated and challenged me.

Esther's story begins when King Ahasuerus, the ruler of Persia becomes drunk at a massive banquet and calls his wife and Queen in to show her off. The Queen does not want to be made a spectacle in front of the King's drunk buddies and refuses to go. Just like that, the Queen is "disposed of." This leaves King Ahasuerus Queen-less. After a lengthy nation wide beauty contest, (think if the President needed a first lady, and held the Ms. America pageant to find his Laura Bush) he finds Esther, a beautiful Jew. After Esther has been established as the queen, the King's Prime Minister, Haman, makes a decree that all Jews will be exterminated. Esther's cousin, Mordecai (who was the one who made Haman irate because he refused to bow down to him) seeks out Esther and convinces her that she needs to talk to the king to save the Jews.

The problem is that Esther can't just drop in on the king while he is in his royal court. If she shows up unannounced, the king could have her killed. Esther knows what must be done, so she enter's the kings court and fortunately for Esther, he extends his royal scepter as a symbol of immunity to Esther. In fact, he is thrilled that she "dropped by the office." Esther arranges a banquet for the King and Haman. At the banquet, the king says to Esther:

“What is your petition, Queen Esther? It shall be granted you. And what is your request? Even to half of the kingdom it shall be done,” Esther’s reply was brilliant: “If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be given me as my petition, and my people as my request; for we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed and to be annihilated. Now if we had only been sold as slaves, men and women, I would have remained silent, for the trouble would not be commensurate with the annoyance to the king.” The king was shocked. “Who is he, and where is he, who would presume to do thus?” And Esther put the finger on Haman, much to his horror (Esth. 7:1-6).

Needless to say, Haman is then hung from the very gallows that he built to kill Mordecai and the Jews were saved.

My favorite part of this scripture is when Mordecai comes to Esther when he finds out about Hamon's decree and says to her, "...you have been put in your royal position for such a time as this."

It took courage for Esther to step up and to do what she needed to, but she had faith in the Lord and trusted that she really was put in that position for a purpose.

I don't know what the new year has in store for you, what troubles it might bring or happiness it might usher in, but I do know, that "for such a time as this," God has placed people, situations, blessings and sorrows in our lives with purpose. I always get hung up when I say that God has a plan, because the whole free will deal still confuses me, but I do know that God has made us each uniquely and there are people around us that need us to be who God has knit us together to be. As you go forward this semester, looking for internships and jobs, building new friendships, working through classes and interacting with random individuals, as you go about your day, ask yourself, "for such a time as this," what is God calling me to do? Once you feel that tug on your heart/conscience, act on it. Just like God was faithful to see Esther into the king's court, he will do the same for you.