Hands and Feet

For so long they have defined who I am.  

I grew up an athlete living in dependence upon the functionality of my hands and feet.  

Then I went to college where walking to class and writing essays seemed to be a never ending task.

Following that came a ministry in Benton, TN.  My ministry would have been rendered near useless if my hands and feet had been taken away.  

What now?

I'm in a new place where I have no athletics, no school, no formal ministry, and no job.  Everything here is new and different.  Little did I know before moving here how much I based who I was on what I did.  To some that sounds overly philosophical and just ridiculous.  To me that statement is a representation of my sin.  Christ did not give me talents in athletics, the ability to survive college or the desire to be in ministry so those things could define who I am.  He alone is worthy of such definition.  To be known as His child ought to render my heart more joy and peace than anything this world has to offer.  From that joy, peace, contentment and stability my hands and feet should then go about desiring to bring Him glory.  Unfortunately, I (we) often forget step one.  Finding satisfaction in being His child.  Thus we pursue hard after everything else to satisfy, define and give us worth.  Creating a deep rooted problem.  When those things I (we) are pursuing change or are altered for us the balance in life is lost and chaos begins to overwhelm.  There is no stability.  There is no contentment.  There is no understanding.  Everything we know has been uprooted.  

What now?  

What happens now is Christ allows us to clearly see where our devotion and commitment are found.  The book of Job exemplifies that while his earthly life was shattered he pressed on towards trust in God.  Yes, he hurt and struggled but he never let hurt and struggle remove his trust in God.  His focus remained on the eternal side of things rather than the temporal.

Let's go back for just a moment to an earlier statement.

"To be known as His child ought to render my heart more joy and peace than anything this world has to offer."

Think that statement through...  

Honestly.

Literally.

Truly.

Does it really matter that you are His child?  What difference has that made in your life?  Is that what makes you not want to drink, smoke, or cuss?  Do you think that's why Christ died?  So you could make good moral decisions?  

He is more than moral decisions.  

He is more than giving good gifts.

He is more than what makes a believer comfortable.

He is God. 

He is the Almighty.

While I feel I am going through a phase where my hands and feet are tied up, my heart is being pruned (John 15:1-11).  The sin that I have in my life has no place.  Apart from Christ it will not be removed.  

If we are never still before the Lord how will we ever see what He is doing?  (Psalm 46:10)  When was the last time you sat quietly in God's presence?  If it truly mattered to you, you would make the time.  Yes, life is busy but somehow we manage to make time for all things we deem important (work, family, friends, entertainment, etc.)  When will Christ become important?