Simplify Your Life! GC 30 March The ones sown among the thorns are others who hear the Word; then the cares and anxieties of the world and distractions of the age, and the pleasure and delight and false glamour and deceitfulness of riches, and the craving and passionate desire for other things creep in and choke and suffocate the Word, and it becomes fruitless. Mark 4:18-19, The Amplified BibleIn the years I have lived by faith, Ive noticed that its easy to become entangled in the affairs of this life. In fact, it sometimes seems as though this world is like an octopus always trying to grab you with its tentacles. If you dont watch out, it will wrap itself around you until youre completely caught up in the mundane, trivial things of this world. If you let them, those trivial pursuits will hold you down and keep you from soaring on into the eternal things of God. They will choke out the Word that has been planted in your heart and leave you without faith and without power. Thats what Mark 4:18-19 is talking about. Here in the United States, we must be especially vigilant against such entanglements because we have such an abundance of material possessions! We can easily end up spending all our time just taking care of them. As the Lord told a friend of mine in prayer one day, this nation has become a nation of maintenance men. We maintain our house. We maintain our yard. We maintain our car and our hair, our nails and our clothes. The problem is, by the time weve done what it takes to maintain all the natural things in our lives, we often dont have any time left to maintain the spirit man who lives on the inside of us. Theres only one thing to do: Simplify your life. But Gloria, you say, the things I do are important. I cant just cut them out of my life! Listen, theres nothing more important than spending time with God in prayer and in the Word. So make whatever adjustments you must to spend time with God. Whenever you take on anything new, count the costnot just in money, but in time. Ask yourself, Can I afford this spiritually? Can I spare the precious hours and minutes this project (possession, hobby, etc.) will require and still have plenty of time to fellowship with the Lord? If the answer is no, then set that project aside. I realize that may mean passing up some things you enjoy, but remember, your aim is not to please yourself. Its to please the One who enlisted you. And believe me, when you make sacrifices for Him, He always makes sure youre well-rewardednot only in this age, but in the age to come. Walking in obedience and fellowship with God is the good life.Deuteronomy 30-31; Acts 13I lay aside every weight which so easily besets me. Hebrews 12:1
Scripture Reading: Luke 12:22-31
