Have you ever had one of those days where you find yourself irritated at everything? For me that day was yesterday. It was as if the world was conspiring to test my patience. Everything “seemed” to be going wrong, and yet, nothing bad actually happened. Sure my plane was delayed (both of them). Sure I missed lunch. Sure I had to walk to the furthest part of the airport for the rental car. But I lived. Nothing broke. Everything worked out in the end.
And yet, I was furious. I was embarrassingly angry with people for no particular reason. Why?
Maybe I was cranky. Maybe I was tired. Maybe I was hungry. But I don’t think those are the “real” problem. The real issue is both deeper and simpler – I lost sight of God.
The Bible says God is a “jealous” God. That’s kind of a weird thing to say about an all-knowing, all-powerful, all-existing God! Why should God be jealous? I mean, what could he want from us? But I think that question misses the point. God isn’t jealous because he wants something we have – he’s jealous because he knows that bad things happen when we shift our focus away from him.
Our lives are designed to operate with God as the center point. When that shifts, our lives, attitudes, and behaviors shift. This is one of the challenging truths about Christianity. It is a religion that requires us to make a conscious decision to believe in God. It is not something that is passed on, it is something that must actively choose. And in some ways it must always be actively “chosen.”
Once we commit to God he asks us to walk a very radical path. A path that goes against what we consider our “nature.” And my nature tells me it’s okay to get angry over stupid things. It takes, literally, an act of God to make me rebel against that notion.
That’s why the minute I lose focus on God, I end up doing things I regret.
Of course this is something we all do. It’s called sin. No matter how intentional we live our lives we will mess up. But that’s okay, because God forgives us (it comes as part of the package of believing in him). The trick is to pick yourself back up and say, “okay God, I screwed up, but I’m still committed to you.” We have to actively make that decision to once again align our lives with God.
That’s what David did in the Old Testament, and God did some pretty cool things through him.
So yes, I lose focus on God all too easily. And it gets me in trouble. But I am confident that God is always waiting for me to realize my mistakes and turn back to him for help. And you know what? Every time I’ve turned back to him, he’s always there waiting for me. And I’m sure he is for you. Even when your plane is running late.
