Congratulations, Class of 2019, you finally made it!
Today, for a large number of you, you're either graduating from high school, college, graduate school, medical school, or some sort of school that I didn't list!
But we all know the most exciting part of graduating: the party that comes with the diploma!
That's right! The cake, the punch, the pulled-pork sandwiches and cheesy potatoes...you know what I'm talking about!
For me, going back home this weekend to see all of the grade below me have their parties and open-houses was a bunch of fun! But I'm not going to lie......there were some that I went to because I knew what was being served at their parties.
Guilty as charged.
Psalm 34:10
The lions may grow weak and hungry, but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.
When I returned home this past Friday, I was astonished to find there were 20+ graduation parties I could go to!
One was serving chocolate-chip pancakes, one was serving cheesecake and white-chocolate-covered strawberries, one was serving Jimmy Johns, and one was even serving the Lord's finest: Chick-fil-a!!!
My mouth starting to drool from the inside as I talked with myself and my grad-party hopping teammates for this weekend to strategize where we would go at what time to get which food.
I wasn't always looking at whose party we were going to, first. I was looking at what food would be most suitable to accompany my lustful appetite for Arnold Palmer's and ice cream.
Now here's the really guilty part:
Last night, I made the connection with this same thing.......but in regards to my faith.
How easy it is to seek God only when we know He's got something we really want, and we can just shoot up a prayer and feast on some pulled-pork sliders and potatoes because God is one who gives to those who ask.
But why should we use God when He never would use us, and never has?
Why is it that we (myself especially guilty of this one) only chase after God when we want something really bad, we need God to fix something in our lives, we need God to help us lose weight or to help us out of our misery and pain, or we just go to church to drink coffee, sit through a sermon and walk out knowing we're all great and faithful Christians!?
It's terrible that I do this, but to know that I'm never going to be the only one means our world needs to change our hearts and minds towards The One who has done literally everything for us, and continues to provide.
Psalm 105:4
Look to the Lord and His strength; seek His face ALWAYS!
Not just always seeking Him when you’re in trouble, but seeking Him when you are having a good or bad day, a day full of God’s blessings or a day full of pain and misery.
Trusting in God regardless of whether or not He gives you a table full of things you want or He tests your faith in Him by making you wait for Him to add something wonderful to your life!
Yeah I know, waiting is one of the most difficult things to do as Christians.......imagine how I felt waiting in line for ice cream for 10 whole minutes yesterday!
Trust in God. He will provide. But remember: God sent His son down here to show that He was a human, too. Let's start treating Him like one, too.
Questions to ask yourself:
1. What was the best grad party food you've had so far this month?
2. Being more serious now, what is one way you've been using God?
3. How can you be more intentional, both in your relationship with God and in your relationships with others?
Pray...that God would give you a happy heart full of thankfulness and humility, ready to be ok with all of God's yes's and no's, and willing to seek Him just like we seek grad parties with Chick-fil-a, whether He has a table full of amazing things waiting, or He's making you wait at the back of the line.
With that said,
Live, love, and be loved.
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