Trades
There are trades we make in life. We buy one thing and we can't afford the other. Time we spend on some activity or with some group of people, and that time can't be spent with different people. This truth also applies to our walk with God and how we live our lives.
There are trades we make. Sometimes we choose the flesh and give up something God has for us. Sometimes we choose God and sacrifice something in this world.
We have to remember that the things we sacrifice for God are not worth what they may seem. When we choose the flesh over God, we trade away:
- peace to gain strife,
- love to gain fear, and
- service for selfishness
What God has for us is not only enough for us; it is abundantly enough. Also, what we would choose for ourselves comes with strings attached, burdens, stress, distractions, and any number of bad things that only God knows.
The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it. -- Proverbs 10:22 NKJV
Be satisfied living within God's plan and with his provision. If you find yourself laden with sorrow or feel like you are, "chasing after the wind," slow down and see if you are making the right trades in your life.
Better one handful with tranquillity than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind -- Ecclesiastes 4:6 NIV
Sometimes when I think about serving God, I feel a pull away back towards the world. I think about the loss of my own plans for my life, what I may have to give up, and what struggles I may have to walk through to be obedient. It's easy to forget the benefits of serving the Lord; forgetting what is lasting and important for what is immediate and temporary.
Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits-- who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. -- Psalm 103:1-5 NIV
Here is one example. Look around at the people surrounding you. How many gossip about others behind their backs? Do they receive some level of social standing by making jokes at the expense of others? Does it feel lonely not to participate? It does for me. I don't want to hurt anyone, but, like everyone, I want to find acceptance. Yet, there has never been a time I have engaged in any such behavior and not regretted it. A laugh in the moment and a torn heart for a lot longer. The opposite however is a moment of isolation, and later: no regret; peace. I'm sure you have had similar experiences. We all have, and in all areas of life.
What is better? The world's way, living with guilt and regret; gain with sorrow and chasing after the wind? Or God's way, walking in peace with some comparatively small and momentary sacrifices?
I know which is the good trade. And, I know that trading is unavoidable; we simply cannot have it all.
Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it. -- Matthew 10:39 NIV