What happens when things go awry? Everything feels awkward. Nothing is as you wished, nor hoped, or planned. When you consider your world, maybe the first thing you look at revolves around those things that you touch or are pushing back. Perhaps the first place to look is your foundation. Are you standing on equal access points, or have you favored one area over the other?
This morning, I realized that one of the most stable things I can do is maintain my routine.
Of course, that routine is broken overnight. Our fur babies (9 AKC German Shepard 4-week old puppies) escaped! Out of their whelping box in the garage, up the two steps, and into the house roaming and howling near our bedroom door. I didn’t have time to snap a picture, call my bride to help! Their momma, Chewy, had made it through the barrier, messed it up, and opened a portal! Escape artists, everyone!
Of course, our foundation did not include puppies in the mix! Our routine does not include howlers, barkers, and whiners at the bedroom door!
Let’s fix the problem! Then we can return to stability.
But That’s Not All
Life does this to us every so often. The past 24 months have proven that and 2020 was not the year of perfect vision. The Bible talks about a time that describes a shaking. Heaven and earth. What remains will be the stable things that cannot be shaken. (Hebrews 12:26-27) We all face times of insecurity and lack of stability, but we also have a foundation in Christ, and if you are secure in Him, you can never be shaken!
As a pastor, I watch the uncertainty of the times and the host of families struggling with issues that we all face. Only, some struggle more greatly because of their history and personality. Though our claim of Christ is strong, our worries stress our walk. Almost… Almost it seems we do not depend on Christ to carry our burdens. Why? We do have a burden bearer that is available all the time. Prayer.
We sing it, shout it at the enemy, believe it, but fail to do it. I’ve been sharing a lot about prayer over the past few years and even find myself not letting my burdens be carried to the Lord via Prayer. (Go ahead, click the link. It will take you to my writing results where prayer is the focus.)
“Our prayers may be awkward.
Our attempts may be feeble.
But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it,
our prayers do make a difference.”
~Max Lucado
Don’t Delay, Start Now
Old sayings about to do now are better than waiting for the morrow. From making better choices on eating, hydration, being friendly, changing our perspective, we all know there is no time like the present to make forward progress. This is the same with taking our burdens to the Lord. Via Prayer.
If Abraham had waited until “prayer time,” perhaps there wouldn’t be a passage in the scripture about interceding for Lot and his family in Sodom and Gomorrah. He entertained the strangers, heard from God about the sin, and could have dallied his time around some schedule of prayer that we all live by. Morning. Night. Noon. Or at a prescribed time when the pastor calls us to prayer.
And the men faced around from there and went toward Sodom.
And Abraham was still standing before Jehovah.
(Genesis 18:22 LITV)
That highlighted phrase shows Abraham’s witness of standing before God as he hears about the judgment of a sinful life. Reread this portion of scripture for yourself, but find that Abraham was willing to intercede and stand up to God as a sinful man who had found Grace and a Calling as a Leader of his family and the future generations of the world.
There are some powerful words in these few verses. Click here to read them now. (Genesis 18:16-33) He’s never demanding God to do anything, but he continues to bring his bargaining chip to the table to save his family.
Who in your world needs God the most? Are you a faithful person to take the need to God? Will you stand before him and negotiate for a better solution in their life? Do you trust God? Will you accept His will?
That’s the foundation you stand on. The Routine that is necessary for all of us. Let’s keep our feet stable on the Rock from that is higher than I.
Is Life Awry? Foundation and Routine Are First Culprits to Investigate! "Our prayers may be awkward. Our attempts may be feeble. But since the power of prayer is in the one who hears it and not in the one who says it, our prayers do… Click To Tweet