Keeping Our Eyes on God

A few weeks ago I wrote a post called Wax On, Wax Off which was inspired by the original Karate Kid movie. As I was watching this movie, I discovered some interesting spiritual applications and wrote a post about it.

I didn't have time to watch the entire movie that night, but I recorded it on my DVR to watch later. I finally watched the rest of the movie, and was once again inspired by the words of Miyagi.

You see, Daniel was in training. Whether he realized it or not, all the hard work he was doing was giving him endurance and teaching him skills. Evenso, Miyagi had to continue to correct Daniel.

At this point in the movie, Miyagi finally shows Daniel how all the hard work he has done prepared him for what will come next.  Each chore--waxing the car, sanding the floor, and painting the fence--taught Daniel basic karate moves.

Then at the end of the first real karate lesson, Miyagi bowed. A stunned Daniel mirrored his teacher's move and bowed, however he looked down at the floor. Miyagi quickly grabbed Daniel's face, he pointed to his own eyes and said, "Always look eye."

This isn't a perfect analogy, however it did bring to mind that I should always keep my eye on my Teacher (God) and His path for me. It also reminds me of Solomon's wise advice to his son in Proverbs 4:25-27...

Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly before you.
Give careful thought to the paths for your feet and be steadfast in all your ways.
Do not turn to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.

Dry Spells and Disruptions

Have you ever hit a dry spell? You may call it a bump in the road, a hiccup, or a roadblock in life.

You're just cruising along--it's not perfect--but it's moving in a direction of some sort. You're not even sure sometimes where you're headed, but you may have a destination in mind. Then something changes. Focus is unclear. Momentum is lost. You may not even realize it's happened until weeks later.

That's where I feel like I am lately. Everything seems a little out of focus. Even the joy of writing has become less joyful for the moment. I still like writing, mind you. It's just that...well, there's this undercurrent of minor chaos all around me. I've written about some of that recently. With a busy day job that requires a lot of mental energy, lately I don't feel like I have much left when I return home in the evenings. Crash. Vegetate. Go to bed. It's a relentless cycle. I can't blame it all on my day job, though. Other areas of my life seem to be requiring more of me than before, too. Some of it's good stuff, too. It's just that managing this maze of my life has made me weary. (For the record, please don't read into this that I don't like my job.)

I used to spend a lot more spare time reading. All of that focused time kept my creative juices going and inspired so many of my blog posts. I still read, but not as much as before. I even get inspiration for writing. Yet those moments of inspiration seem to come to me when I don't have time to write them down or develop them. I think to myself that I'll write it down as soon as I get a chance. Then something happens and I forget.

I also did a lot of journaling in the past year, recording spiritual events so that I wouldn't forget. That journal is a wonderful keepsake of the way God has worked in my life. I haven't written in that journal for the past two months. So you see, I'm not really sure whether to call it a dry spell or a huge disruption.

I'll be honest. I can look back now and see that some of this started shortly after coming to the realization that a door to one part of my life had been closed. It brought me to a point where I questioned the purpose of many things that occurred in my life during the past year. Why did all these things happen which were leading me in one direction suddenly come to a startling halt? Did I miss something? What did I do wrong? What did you do, God?  I went through the gammut of emotions as I processed these thoughts. Besides talking to God about them, I even talked to trusted friends. There are no answers at this time. Just more questions. One thing has not changed, though. I still trust God. Oddly enough, I probably trust Him now more than ever. After the events He's brought me through, I've really learned how much God loves me and wants the best for me. How can I not trust Him?

Meanwhile, I've also felt this strong compulsion to keep writing. But, with this disruption...What's a girl to do? Hmmm. I know I've got to find the time to do it. The Lord keeps showing me over and over than I need to share through writing.

The writer of Ecclesiastes tell us that there is "A Time for Everything." I'm sure you're familiar with these words...

For everything there is a season,

a time for every activity under heaven. (Ecc. 3:1)

There's a really great song from the 1960s based on these verses. Time truly is in God's hands. He is in control. Probably less familiar is the entire book of Ecclesiastes. The writer, Solomon, was a really wise man. Yet he struggled with life, too. "It's all meaningless," he would say. Read what Solomon writes just after the "A Time for Everything" section:

Ecclesiastes 3:9-15

What do people really get for all their hard work?  

I have seen the burden God has placed on us all.  

Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. 

He has planted eternity in the human heart, 

but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end.  

So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long 

as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, 

for these are gifts from God. And I know that whatever God does is final. 

Nothing can be added to it or taken from it. God’s purpose is that people 

should fear him. What is happening now has happened before, and what will

 happen in the future has happened before, because God makes the 

same things happen over and over again.

Even a wise man like Solomon grappled with life. He had riches untold. He ruled in peace as a King like no other has ever known. He was truly blessed by God. I like what Warren Wiersbe says about this book:

"Called a pessimistic book, Ecclesiastes is actually realistic. ...When viewed apart from God ('under the sun'), life is indeed 'vanity' (futility); but when you live for Christ, life is never 'in vain.' ...Six times Solomon advises you to enjoy life now and be grateful for God's gifts."  Wiersbe remind us that this is not pleasure-seeking philisophy, but a joyful outlook for believers who accept life as something from God to enjoy.

I feel like I rambled a bit, but just wanted to share a little of what's on my heart. What are you grappling with these days?

Distractions

dis·trac·tion

[dih-strak-shuh n]

mental distress or derangement; that which distracts, 

divides the attention, or prevents concentration; 

that which amuses, entertains, or diverts

I’ve had my fair share of distractions recently. Some of the distractions were unavoidable and/or the usual day-to-day stuff. Other distractions were like magnets drawing me in. Rather than fight off that magnetic pull, it’s just been easier to give in.  Who wouldn't rather snuggle with a book on a cold, rainy day than reorganize a closet?

Distractions are inevitable. It’s a fork in the road which requires me to choose. Some choices are clear yet not always easy to make. For example, the kitchen clearly needs to be cleaned, but a favorite television show is about to air. On the other hand, some choices are not so clear. An example here might be choosing between helping a sick friend and spending the holiday with family. Who do you disappoint? In each example something or someone distracts from the original plan.

When the plan involves a commitment to another person (or to God), it’s even more difficult to contend with distractions. I’ve had that happen several times in recent months. I made a few commitments in spiritual matters but it wasn’t long before I was met with distractions. To be honest, the distractions were so subtle that I didn’t realize what was happening until I noticed a pattern. Dare I say these particular distractions were tests?  Hmmm. Very possible.

For that man ought not to expect that he will receive 

anything from the Lord, being a double-minded man, 

unstable in all his ways (James 1:7-8).

Double-minded? That term sounds curiously like the definition of distraction: divides the attention. I heard this verse in church recently and after I saw it I realized that’s exactly what was happening to me. I’ve been giving these distractions a foot-hold in my life. Becoming aware of this issue has helped some. By no means have I conquered it. I'm still working on that one.

But, these distractions present an opportunity for me to make a choice. My attention can be divided for only so long before something suffers. If these distractions are tests, it gives me an opportunity to choose God's path. When I recognize these moments I can choose to ask God, What would you have me do here?  It only takes a few seconds to ask that question. The easier thing to do is just move right ahead with what we want to do or with whatever is pulling at us harder. It’s a learning process. However, each time I make a choice to follow God's path, it strengthens my relationship with Him and strengthens my own faith. 

If we go back and look at the context of this passage in James, we see that the chapter is about testing our faith. James says in verses 5 and 6, 

But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, 

who gives to all generously and without reproach, 

and it will be given to him. But he must ask in faith 

without any doubting, for the one who doubts 

is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.

God is ready to give me wisdom to make the right choices. And look! He is generous about giving wisdom. I just have to ask, with faith. (I just need to remember to do it! Hey, maybe I can actually get back to writing on this blog again.)