About three weeks ago, I was hanging out in our Woman’s Minister’s office down the hall and while admiring her book collection, I found a book that sparked my eye. The List. I pulled it off the shelf and read the back. The book is really geared toward young singles, but I originally thought it would be a good read for me to relate with girls in the college group (we are volunteer leaders). However, after the first few pages, I realized that I was so drawn to the book, because it described me and was applicable to all women (& maybe even men).
Like I said, the back cover was originally what drew me in, it said something like – what happens when you don’t get everything on your “list” or what happens when you do, but your not satisfied. After the first 30 pages, my world was rocked and I can’t wait to share all my thoughts with you.
Not sure if guys could ever relate to this, but girls tend to have “lists”. Lists in what they want in a husband, what they want in life, etc… go to college, start a career, get married, buy a big “Pinterest Perfect” house, have beautiful kids… yada yada yada. So what happens when your 25 and still single, or 30 with no kids? What happens when you get married, have the perfect job, but still feel like something is missing. You naturally crawl into bed with a tub of ice cream, watch the notebook, and fall into depression. I’m kidding, lol. But seriously, how do we cope? How do we combat this in our lives?
The answer is simple but complicated. Jesus. We were created in His image with the purpose of glorifying Him. Then, the serpent got in Eves ear and it was all over. She disobeyed God and sought her own glory instead of God’s. She heard the serpent promise power, prestige, everything on her “list” and she fell for it. She sought out things, instead of the creator of all.
In reality, we are faced with the same decision Eve was every day. Are we going to glorify ourselves or are we going to glorify God. Is He enough? Or are we falling for satans trap that we need things, and people or money or status to satisfy us? I think if we are honest, most days, we are falling for the trap. We think those adorable Tory Burch boots, or that perfect Kate Spade handbag are going to do the trick. We think our husabnds will sastisfy us, only to find out that they are far from perfect.
Ultimately, all of these things will let us down. If we are putting our hope in “stuff” or “people”, we are bound to fail. In order for our hope to be real and satifying, we must place it in something pure, something solid. Biblical Hope – it is greater than any emotion and more satisfying than any sale at Nordsrom, it anchors our soul. We are so quick to trust in other things instead of leaning on God.
“The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack” -Psalm 23
“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened so you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the glorious riches of His inheritance among the saints. – Ephesians 1:18
We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us, O Lord, even as we put our hope in you. – Psalm 33:20-22
I hope this is as thought-provoking for you as it is for me. I feel like the Lord has really been teaching me a lot about this the past few weeks, so I just wanted to share. I am only on page 77..lol so I am sure there will be another post on this topic coming soon as I read more and thoughts come to mind. But, for today, with His help, I pray that I am choosing to glorify Him.