Romans 12:2 (NIV)
We had a dark damp cellar beside our home when I was growing up. I was scared of it but loved it at the same time. There was a mystery about it that I can’t quite explain. I only had a 60 watt light bulb to chase shadows to the corners and an ancient propane stove to keep me warm in the winter but I didn’t care.
I had a vivid imagination and when I was in the cellar putting eggs in shipping cartons, I would imagine myself in the belly of Jonah’s whale or in a dungeon, a princess tossed there by the wicked queen.
I could ignore the scary feeling of being down there to do my work because I was focused on my own little world. My dad would remind me to always keep an eye on the heater but most of the time I was so caught up in what I was doing that I didn’t pay attention to his warning.
One winter evening as I was moving eggs from baskets to cartons and stacking them up, my mind was far away in a place where the eggs were actually solid gold and I was preparing to hide them from an evil witch.
As I worked, it occurred to me that I was getting a headache and felt a bit dizzy but I ignored it. Even when I became somewhat short of breath, I continued on with my game. I was just too absorbed with my imagination to realize what was happening.
Suddenly the door to the cellar was thrown open and I heard my father calling my name as he ran down the stairs, grabbed my arm and pulled me to the outside. He had opened the door to the cellar and the smell of propane had hit him so hard that it had knocked him backward. The pilot light had gone out on the stove but I had not noticed. My focus was somewhere else.
Would you agree that focusing on the world instead of the Lord can happen to any of us? As Paul warns in Romans 12:2, we must be careful not to slip into conforming to the “pattern of this world.” How can you tell if that is happening?
We might find ourselves focusing more on a career and less on the church. Our conversations may begin to resemble gossip sessions rather than prayer concerns. We find it easier and easier to justify why Sunday should be a day set aside for the lake instead of the Lord.
Can you relate like I can? If you are nodding your head “yes,” I would encourage you today to make Christ the center of your attention by heeding the warnings around you and turning the spotlight off on your “own little world.”
Father, please show me those things in my life that I focus on more than Jesus. Help me to eliminate anything that does not glorify you first. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
R.A.P. it up . . .
Reflect
What are some things in your life that pull you from your relationship with Jesus?
Are any of those things more important than a relationship with Him?
Apply
Journal a list of everything you accomplish in a week.
During prayer time, ask the Lord to show you if any of those things are vying for your focus over your relationship with Christ and make changes as necessary.
Power
Romans 12:2 (NIV) “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
James 4:4 (NIV) “You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.”
I John 2:15 (NIV) “Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.”
(For more of Nancy Hughes' writing, check out her blog, Encouragement from the War Room.)
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