What are you doing with your life? Are you looking for something yet feel you don’t know what you’re seeking? Are you struggling on the daily and only occasionally stop to ask yourself why you are striving and struggling so much; What is the end-goal? Is there something in our souls that propel us to do this? What are we looking for? What are we running to…or from? What are we doing with our lives?
The Book, The Pursuit of God, states that we have made a monstrous substitution in regards to life’s purpose and therefore have missed the meaning of life.
and we dare not pull up one rootlet lest we die.
Things have become necessary to us,
a development never originally intended.
God’s gifts now take the place of God,
and the whole course of nature is upset by the monstrous substitution.”
I cannot understate the awe found in the depth of the statement that the “whole course of nature is upset by” our horrific substitution. The scriptural antidote is this;
Let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
For whosoever will save his life shall lose it:
And whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall find it.”
Matt. 16: 24-25
As a wandering wonderer, I can only reason out this riddle of sorts through hope that I’m following the right path. The tyranny of materialism beckons and we hear it’s call plainly. The spiritual call of an ancient God is harder to discern. The closets of our lives are filled with things we don’t need and the recesses of our minds are lacking the recognition of gifts that can only be placed in us by the One true God. We can all say that in some way we have substituted ‘things’ for what is godly.
A.W. Tozer, writer of The Pursuit of God, explains; “the only effective way to destroy this foe; it is by the cross.” We cannot break the yoke of oppression, which is visible and found in our striving, our longing and feelings of need, by seeking to attain more. That seeking of More, in and of itself, is the Oppressor; the foe. We must rid ourselves of this modern Oppressor, which, ironically, is Self. That Self that wants and wants and really doesn’t know what it wants. That Self that has bought into the lifestyle of seeking but never attaining enough; of striving for the end goal but not knowing the End Goal. It’s madness.
I find it interesting that humans have always sought out the meaning of life. If we could just stand still, in the position of listening, and drown out every single sound in the way of our hearing….we could recognize a simple truth- that every single moment of our striving is for naught. "We brought nothing into this world and we can take nothing out." "We have everything we need within us for life and godliness" but it’s this external world screaming for our attention that’s gotten our attention. Why? Because this fallen world is the very antithesis of godliness.
The good news is that there are laws at work that demand balance. Here is one scientific law we’ve all been taught and can understand; “For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.” For example, if there is a striving then this law indicates that there is a ceasing. That is the exact premise. There is an opposite position in this realm that stands in contrast to the chaos our material pursuit; it is the surrendering to the scriptural truth that through Christ we have all we need and that we can find Rest in that. We just need to recognize that we, indeed, have all we need. It sounds too easy because it is. Can you imagine the feeling of relief in this world if we all just ceased our striving and returned our hearts to the honorable pursuit of loving God and loving others? It is truly that simple yet we complicate it in ways that are all too familiar and specific for each of us.
Another cataclysmic problem is, the world doesn’t want us to recognize there’s a way out of this tyranny because it wants! It wants our attention, our money, our hard work and our time. This world and its promises of fulfillment are like clanging cymbols of distraction that want our constant attention. The here and now is all we have. Let's stop and put and end to all this striving. God is the God of rest. Peace is His countenance and love His center-point. If peace and love are not propelling us in all we do-then we have lost our way in this fallen world. This, too, is a monstrous substitution.
Song Recommendation:
First Things First
BY: Consumed By Fire
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QyF1g6l0AKo
“Peace I leave you;
my peace I give you.
I do not give to you as the world gives.
Do not let your hearts be troubled
and do not be afraid.
I have told you these things,
So that in me you may have peace.
In this world you will have trouble.
But take heart!
I have overcome the world.”
John 16:33
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