Daily Devotional: 7/2/2018 - GOING LEFT

"Why do we try to; Hide what inside; When inside is all we know; Talking 'bout the thing that you don’t let show; Guess it all just means that; I got the world on my back; Girl on my mind; God in my heart; Gun on the dash (No, don’t do it!); Momma says, baby, you running to fast." Going Left - Dream Junkies (John Givez)

This is honestly one of my favorite verse and in my opinion one of the most underappreciated verses of all time. I remember the first time I heard it, I was instantly blown away and felt connected; I felt it like nobody's business. We tend not to be open books, we hide the real us. We do not talk about what needs to be talked about. We shy away from the bad and only focus on the good, it is the way society is teaching us. We "hide what's on the inside, when the inside is all we know." We know ourselves more than anyone else does. We all have that side that is outgoing and explosive. Sometimes it takes a lot to come out and sometimes you just need that special someone to get it to come out of you (and if you find that special someone, do not let it go; we all need people like that in our life). 1 Thessalonians 2:8 says, "so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well." We have to not only share the gospel, but our life. We have to expose the truth and expose our self to growth. "Do not be an onion, which has many layers". We know so much and have a lot to say and learn. We have to be open and step out of our comfort zone. Now onto my favorite part, "I got the world on back; Girl on my mind; God on my heart; Gun on the dash." We carry burdens that we should not and do not have to carry. We are our worst and harshest critics, we expect so much out of ourselves. We put the world on our back, we put so much pressure on ourselves. We have to be careful about this, we have to make sure we do not too much on ourselves and that there is not too much pressure because we are only mortal and do not have a lot of strength, and we will crumble under it all. We do not have close to the strength of holding the world on our back, the only one that does is God himself. Matthew 11:28-29 says, "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for you soul." Psalm 55:22 says, "Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." 1 Peter 5:6-7 says, "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's might hand, that he my lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." Philippians 4:6 says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." We cannot do this on our own, this is a team sport. Whether it is just you and God or you, someone else, and God; we all need help and we need each other. Galatians 6:1-3 says, "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. If anyone thinks they are something when they are not, they deceive themselves." We have to not only lean on God, but we have to lean on others. One of my biggest struggles in life is lust and idolatry (in the sense of females). We have to be careful on who we are going to and giving all our attention to. We have to be careful on who and what we are putting on a pedestal. Just as easily as we can take a step with God we can take one step away from God. Romans 1:21-23 says, "For although they know God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles." We have to guard our heart (Proverbs 4:23) and set it on Jesus. We have to think about and act like Jesus. We have to have God on the heart and the mind. Obviously we will one day grow very close with someone special, but they cannot take everything; you have to make sure you are still set on Jesus. You have to make sure they are helping you with your journey, they have to help us grow and be with God. They have to challenge us to grow and become closer to God; it is all about His glory. Sometimes we live life with a gun on the dash and move to fast. We live waiting for something bad to happen; we rush. We rush to conclusions, we try to rush God's plans. We expect the unexpected, we do not just let it happen. We try to pace and plan our own path. But that is not our job and God will humble us real quick when we try. We have to slow down and focus. There are times where it is good to live in the fast lane, but there are times where it is even better to be in the slow lane. We have to be able to relax, enjoy life, and enjoy the things we have missed.

Lord, thank you for all that you do. I pray you help us focus on you and help us from going left. Instead allow us to go straight, and straight to you. You are our God, there is nothing above you; and there never will be. I pray that you are with us giving us the heart and mind and wisdom to follow your path, and I pray that when we try to rush it or try to repave that you humble us real quick in order for us not to misstep more than we have to. I pray all this in your son's name, Amen.

#LetsBeAMovement