Scanning for post boxes

What am I looking for today?

I know that if I need to mail a letter my eyes will be scanning everywhere for the nearest post box. Normally I couldn’t care less about those shiny red objects, but if I’m focused on getting the letter sent I am single-minded. So much so that I mightn’t recognise the bright pink hues emerging from the new-season trees… or the fact my three-year-old has just whispered something really sweet.

It’s like in those romantic comedies (or in real life sometimes)… The ‘close guy friend’ has been loyally listening to her talk about her high school crushes for years, and is truly the most caring and devoted person she’ll ever meet… but she’s never even considered him before. She’s too focused on other, perhaps less ideal, people.

We often miss the treasures that are right in front of us. They come second place to our instincts to seize the immediate, the necessary, the most gratifying.

If I eat very little for dinner and my children wake me up at the crack of dawn the next day, my food and drink choices might be reactive rather than responsive. I will replace self-care with short-term survival (and pleasure) by maybe choosing a Bacon and Egg McMuffin and sugar-laden coffee over something more nourishing.

We’re always making impulsive choices. It’s human nature. And no matter how strict or focused we might claim to be, something will always distract us, or turn us a bit off-course at some point.

Life is a battle of wills, and sometimes there seems no clear right or wrong.

But no matter how many times I might try and do things my way, there is a truth that’s undeniable. One that keeps tapping me on the shoulder. And his name is Jesus.

He is God’s son, who came to earth in order to know what it feels like to be human. He never did anything wrong, yet he knew what it was like to live in a fleshly body. To be tempted. To feel strong emotions. Yet his resolve to keep firmly focused on his Father’s will was strong. He knew that one day God would ask him to die on the cross to bear the sins of the world. So that we wouldn’t have to face the ultimate consequences of our impulsive, sometimes destructive, decisions.

His resolve paid off – big time. But it sure was costly.

I know that tomorrow morning I’ll wake to a series of temptations. We all will. But as I navigate my day, I want to look for God’s word, truth and will with each step. His purposes are bigger than I can imagine… His directions for my life? They’re right and healthy, driven by a love unfathomable.

I want to follow His agenda – no matter the cost.

Lord, give me the strength to serve you well, so I might receive the blessings and peace that come from that. And may the world around me know a little more of how wonderful you are as a result.

“But if serving the Lord seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve… But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.”

(Joshua 24:15)