Rejoicing Always

      I recently wrote my second sermon and preached it to the Celtic Cross congregation on Mother's Day 2014.  It is titled Living a Life of Rejoicing Always.  I pray that it will always be a reminder to me of the journey I am committed to and that it  may be a blessing to others as well. 

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It is so easy to let the things of the world take over our lives each day.  Most of our year is spent with the daily obstacles of working so that the bills can get paid, cleaning and caring for our material things, and taking care of the demands of others in our lives. 

Day in and day out, my day will typically go something like this.  The morning routine of getting myself and our two year old ready for the day while Matthew gets himself and the older two children ready for the day.  Then I’m off to a full day of work with children, colleagues and administrators.  When the work day is done, I make sure I get whatever needs to be ready for the next work day ready and follow up with colleagues and parents on the events of the day that has just finished.  Then I head home with the stresses and worries of the work day still on my mind.  Once home, it’s time to take care of the “home stuff”. 

If we don’t have to run off to dance, or baseball, or cub scouts….it’s cooking the dinner meal, cleaning up dinner and dishes and mess from the day.  Helping with homework, going through school papers, trying to keep all the information in them straight.  Bath and bedtime routines.  Filling the humidifiers, pouring the allergy medicine, picking out everyone’s clothes for tomorrow, and changing the unexpected bedtime dirty diaper.  Breaking up the sibling spats.  Feeding the animals.  Getting in a load of laundry, emptying the dishwasher, taking out the trash, updating the grocery list.  Getting more work stuff done that couldn’t be finished at work.  And hopefully, when we are on top of things enough, my husband and I may even get to spend some time with each other.

We all have our story of the way that a majority of our days go.  For some people, their work consumes more of the ins and outs of their day.  For others, it’s keeping up with children and the household.  Teenagers and young adults busy themselves with their social life, school, and whatever it takes to get them to where they think they want to get to.  We all get swept away in all the stuff we think we have to do.  We also get swept away with the stuff we want to do too.  We get swept away with the holidays, the birthday parties, the social life.  This world is so full of distractions.  We are so consumed by all of the things of the day to day of this life…this world.

I read a book recently, in which the author shared her belief that young children are still very connected to God’s world because they are not yet that engaged with the world.  I told a lady I work with about this book and the author’s thoughts and she shared with me that she believed what the author said to be true because after the father of her children died, one of her girls, who was quite young at the time, told her that her daddy had told her that he was in heaven. 

In reflecting on my life, I know that I have had times when I have been very focused on God.  For me, college was a great time of focus on a small number of things.  My classes, my boyfriend Matthew, my job as a resident assistant, and my relationship with God.   I was devoted to thinking about God in all things, and filling my time with prayer, reading the Bible, being part of a Bible study group, and fellowshipping with other Christians who were also doing their best to be focused on God.  I was open to His will being done in my life and because of that He used me in the lives of others. 

Over time, my life became filled with many of the other things of the world that fill our space and time.  I got married, bought a house, started a career, and soon started having babies.  For me, this became an overwhelming time in my life as we constantly changed homes, jobs, and added more children.  I recently read a journal entry of mine that took place in a time of my life when I know that God was not a priority.  I was a wife to a pastor and attending church every week, yet still, I wrote this entry.  “People would be shocked to know how little I read the Bible or how I can’t seem to pray anymore.  I know it’s wrong…the worst thing I can do, yet I feel helpless to change it.”

Looking back, I know how I got to that low point in my life.  I know that God was not THE priority in my life.  God was on the “backburner” for quite a few years of my life.  I now look back and realize how far from the path God would have chosen for me that I strayed.  I don’t know what He could have done with my life but I know I am not the woman today that I could have been. 

Why is it that we so easily forget who our God is?  How is it that we can so easily let the distractions of this world keep us from remembering daily that our God is I AM.  He is everything…the beginning and the end.   He is GOOD and He is LOVE.  He is LIFE and TRUTH.  He has saved us from this world and from death.  He has given us His spirit to be with us each moment of this life.  He has given us purpose.  He has given us all of this by giving us Himself. 

With all that He is to us…why is it still so easy to not make God a priority in our lives?  Well….whether we like it or not, this world we inhabit during the course of our lives is not the world God created in the beginning.  The fall of humanity really happened.  We turned away from God and tried to do it on our own a long, long, time ago.  Much like we still try to do today.  Most of us prefer not to think about the fact that Satan is constantly vying for his place in our lives…our hearts…our souls.  At times we even get so consumed with this world that we forget about our own mortality.  Until faced with it in a tragic news story or when sadly something happens to someone we know.  We easily forget what a gift each day actually is.  We forget that no matter how much we try, we can’t live this life without God…The one who gave us the very breath we breath.  When we don’t think about the one who has given us life and who has great plans for our lives….when we don’t thank Him and praise him for the great things that He is…we leave an opening for the one who wants to defeat Him by defeating us.  We allow Satan to get more leverage in this very real war that wages every moment of every day between good and evil.  If God is not your priority, then you will stray from the path He would have you go. 

There is a new song on the radio by an artist named Michael West.  It says, “I woke up this morning…saw a world full of trouble now…thought, how’d we ever get so far down.  How’s it ever gonna turn around?  So I turned my eyes to Heaven…I thought, “God, why don’t You do something?”  Well, I just couldn’t bear the thought of people living in poverty, children sold into slavery, the thought disgusted me.  So, I shook my fist at Heaven and said, “God, why don’t You do something?”  He said, “I DID, I created you.” 

If we are not making God a priority, then how can we ever live out the great life he desires for us? 

I know that I have allowed the days in my life to pass this way.  I have let Satan slowly inch me away from the path that God would have me travel…which makes me think…knowing what I know about God…knowing that what He wants to do with my life is so good…that path would surely be such an amazing journey.  I want that for my life and I want that kind of life for my children…who learn about life from watching their father and I. 

So my question to all of you is this…will you choose each day to live out the great life that God has planned for you?  He has a purpose for you…no matter how far you have strayed from him.  No matter how much you have messed things up.  God is hope.  He is love.  He is life.  He is truth. 

There is no denying that the daily ins and outs of our lives will continue.  Our life will have times of trouble.  The world will continue to distract us with many things.  So, how can we guard ourselves against the forces of evil that silently surround us?  How can we seek our Savior through it all?  What do we need to do to allow our path to be directed by God?  To live with confidence…knowing that God is with us and His plans for us are good.  Knowing that we can be free to live a life of rejoicing always…no matter what may come.  

Over the last few months of my life, I have chosen to make God the first priority in my life.  He has begun to teach me how to find my way back to a strong relationship with him through knowing who He is and praising Him for it…through spending time in prayer and in His word every day of the life He gives me, and through surrounding myself with others who will stand with me on my journey. 

In Stormie Omartian’s book The Prayer That Changes Everything, she says, “When we live a lifestyle of praise and worship, we keep our heart fresh and open to the working of the Holy Spirit in us.  We keep ourselves in the right place to hear from God and be guided by Him.  We rightly position Him as first priority in our lives.  We keep ourselves always dependent upon Him, whether things are going well or not.  This keeps us close to Him.”  With all that our God is…why wouldn’t we glorify Him with our praise?  After all, we have nothing that we could give that could ever equal what He has given us.  So know who God is and praise Him for it in all times.  Live a life of rejoicing always.     

In the scripture from the fourth chapter of Hebrews, verse 12; God’s word is described as “alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged sword.  It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are joined, to the center of our joints and bones.  And it judges the thoughts and feelings in our hearts.”  To grow in our relationship with God, we must spend time daily in His word, praying for God to reveal who He is and listening to what He has to say to us.  The best way to do this is to be part of a group who studies the Bible together.  This gives you both accountability to ensure you spend time in God’s word and allows you the privilege of hearing God speak through others as well. 

Lastly, it is of great importance that you have close Christian friends who are also determined to grow in their walk with God.  Matthew 18, verse 20 says, “This is true because if two or three people come together in my name, I am there with them.”  If you’ve ever questioned why you go to church…this is one of the many reasons why…united we stand; divided we fall.  Our flesh is weak…we need to support each other.  Going it alone leaves us far more susceptible to the lies of the evil one.  Even Jesus tells his disciples to “Stay awake and pray for strength against temptation.  The spirit wants to do what is right, but the body is weak.”

The world will continue to distract us with many things.  The often invisible yet very real war for our lives…our hearts…and our souls will continue to be waged.  But if you choose to live out the great life God has planned for you…know who God is and praise Him for it, spend time in prayer and in God’s word every day of the life He gives you, and surround yourself with others who will stand with you on your journey.  When the hard times come…you will be confident that God is with you and His plans for you are good and you may be free to live a life of rejoicing always.