so today I read Proverbs 4:19 and it really stuck with me. "But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble."
I asked God what it meant for me. I felt like he was telling me that there are so many instances in which we are struggling with things in our life. Divorce, addiction, children, diet soda, food, exercise ... whatever it may be, anything in your life can become a hindrance to your closeness with Him. You think you have control over these things. You think your decisions are the best decisions. Did you consult Him on it yet? Do you have a relationship with Him? Did you grow up with Him and now have fallen away, and maybe you just 'know' there is a God, but only think of Him when there is a natural disaster, or a bombing at a popular marathon? Sadly, we call upon Him only when we need him, it seems. When things are going swell we forget to thank Him for what we have, for all we've been given. We don't share with our neighbors or the less fortunate. We are all about owning it, having it, getting the next best thing.
If you don't know God and even if you do but you've squandered your relationship and time with Him ... He knows you. He wants you. He wants to chat. He wants you to think about Him. He wants to you pray to Him. Acknowledge Him. In your best moments and in your worst moments ... Jesus is standing next to you and do you know what he says? Can you close your eyes right now, imagine that Jesus is next to you, wherever you are, He looks to you, with a smile on his face. Do you know what he says? He says "I love you."
He doesn't want you to stumble. He wants you to walk with courage and faith in Him that no matter the path you are on, as long as you are using His light, His words to get down the path ... that He'll lead you through. He never said we aren't going to hit a roadblock. He never said that things would be easy. He never said that we wouldn't stumble. He knows you are going to stumble, but He just wants you to admit when you have, get back up, take His hand, His light and follow His path.
What I think He's saying to me in this verse is that if you are unaware that you are on the wrong path, you won't recognize the hindrances which are occurring. You'll think you have them under control, you'll think that you "see" the path, but really you are just walking aimlessly towards destruction.
What are you struggling with? Just a few weeks ago I went from about 2 liters of diet soda a day to one can on Fridays. At the same time I tried to quit chewing my nails, a habit from when I was about 6 years old. I'm currently 33 so, yeah, quite a long time chewing these things. Nasty, I know. Also, I was struggling a little bit keeping up with the kiddos, losing energy and not sleeping well, so I also decided to kinda throttle back on the white bread, refined sugar and anything not whole wheat or a naturally occurring carbohydrate ... by natural I mean not having gone through lots of man-made machines. And just to add another egg to the basket I thought maybe I should start jogging over my lunch hour. My oh my!!!
Have you ever had a resolution or a promise to yourself ...? I'm on about week 6 or 7 with all of the aforementioned activities, or lack thereof. I'm doing pretty good. Trust me, I'd like to drink about 5 diet mountain dews everyday.
So I was going to do some mud and sanding tonight ... after a long day it seems with the kids, trying to create a picture frame for my wife from some old, reclaimed baseboard trim we pulled off our house during remodel ... well, the frame didn't work out for the day and is currently in clamps with wood glue. I'm hoping it'll be on the wall tomorrow.
I'm going to get some pictures up soon of the remodel, the projects, maybe even one or two of the family. Tomorrow is coming.
Is there anything causing you to stumble?
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