guilty

Sitting here on a Monday night, it's only 8, but you could convince me otherwise. It has been a day filled with turning in projects, taking quizzes, writing papers and all the things that fill the in between.

I wanted to share some words from John Ortberg that I had come across a few months ago- it's a good reminder for days like this- see if you can relate.

"If I wake up in the morning and go through the day with a shrunken God, there are consequences. I will live in a constant state of fear and anxiety because everything depends on me, and my mood will be governed by whatever circumstances hit me that day.

If I live with a shrunken God, I will find it unnatural to pray when I have a need, because I'm not really sure, to be honest, that God makes a difference and that prayer matters. If I live with a shrunken God I will become a slave to whatever other people think of me, because I don't live in the security of a big God's acceptance of me. If I face temptation to speak deceitful words in order to avoid trouble, I'll do it. Or if I can get credit for something at work that I haven't earned, and I don't trust there's a God who sees in secret and will one day reward, I'll do it.

When human beings shrink God, they pray without faith, worship without awe, serve without joy, suffer without hope, and the result is a life of stagnation and fear, a loss of vision, an inability to persevere and see it through. It's against this backdrop the writers of Scripture never tire of telling us that we do not live with a little tribal God.

Whatever our need, God is bigger. Whatever out weakness, God is stronger."

I'm guilty of shrinking God today. It wasn't intentional; it crept its way in when I began making my problems bigger. In doing that I stopped looking into the telescope towards God and looked through the microscope at my circumstances.

I needed time to sit down. So after I finished washing the dishes from dinner and paused The Holiday, I opened my Bible to 2 Corinthians 6: 3-10... while my sister's dog is laying on my feet keeping them warm : )

This day will be over soon and tomorrow, for all practical purposes will be just like today. So as guilty as I am for shrinking my view of God, I am thankful for being made aware of it and for having time to sit down, just for a little bit, to reflect and gain an upward perspective.

Now it's 8:30... I only have to stay up 2 more hours until I can justify going to sleep, without having a bedtime given to me by my parents...