Ah...life

            I don't know about you, but I have recently been wrestling with small bouts of depression.  I thought a sure fire remedy would to simply be incessant about my church attendance.  Wednesday morning prayer breakfast, Wednesday night church service, Thursday night small group, Friday morning Bible study, and Sunday church-- that was my church schedule for the week.  In addition to that, I was reading the Bible and submitting myself to God in prayer each day.  Yet my feelings about myself and my faith continued to wax and wane almost daily, and it became increasingly difficult to maintain any consistency in my Christian walk. 

            I have the fantastic ability to beat myself up every time I engage in any type of sinful behavior.  I will have a moral hangover for two, three, four days-- maybe even a week.  On top of this, I continue to feel sorry for myself at my current plight in life.  I keep asking God, "Is anything good ever going to happen in my life?" 

            As many of you may know, I was a basketball coach for seven years.  I walked away from coaching in April 2009, and since that time, I have struggled valiantly trying to decide what I want to do with my life.  It seems like everything I consider doing will be pale in comparison to my time as a basketball coach.  The sad thing is, I have no desire to get back into coaching, even though it was the career that I was once so passionate about.  Why this is, I cannot explain. 

            And this is why I want to be a writer.  I find tremendous meaning and value in writing.  But today's message is not really about my desire to be a writer.  What I really want you to take away from this message is this: There are times in our lives when all the pieces are not falling into place in the major areas of our life: Relationships, Career, Finances, Health, School, etc.  In fact, I am not satisfied at all in any of these areas of my life at this moment.  This is been my unnerving struggle and the thing that keeps me up at night. 

            So, what are we to do?

            I have recently been attending Church of the Highlands in Birmingham.  The pastor does a great job at teaching us to give everything to God when we encounter the trials of life.  This concept makes perfect sense when you consider one thing at a time.  Yet there have been moments when I've wanted to stand up in the middle of the service and shout-- "Well what do you do when your life just stinks?"      

            I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  Are our lives so bad or are we just spoiled Americans?  Are our expectations too high or is our focus in the wrong place? 

            I think to combat these feelings, we have to do three things: 1) Concentrate on the wonder of God (from the words of the speaker at church last night), 2) Focus on the importance of the little things of life, AND 3) Pray without ceasing and get in the word!!

            First, what types of things should we be in awe of?

            Consider the following verses regarding God's wonder and awe. 

            1) JESUS.  Isaiah 9:6 says, "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." 

            2) THE EARTH. Psalm 65:8 "The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders; where morning dawns, where evening fades, you call forth songs of joy."

            3) THE KINGDOM OF GOD.  "Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." 

           

            Lastly, I have started to try my best to appreciate the small, seemingly insignificant things of life.  My eyes have been opened to the little pleasantries, all the many ways that God blesses me each day.  If I do nothing but focus on the "big" things of life, I will continue to miss out on thousands of ways that God is blessing me each day.  And daily, don't forget to pray.  It's truly amazing how prayer can have such a healing effect on your soul.