3MN: Don't trust your eyes. You're in the wildness. Trust your ears.
Happy Thursday!
In the next 3 minutes:
- When I heard my name, I knew everything would be okay.
- What it feels like to feel lost.
- We live in a generation of eyes.
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Minute 1 - God didn't bring us this far to forget our names.
Did you ever get lost as a kid?
Once, at the local mall (yeah, we used to go to those), there was a Disney store with a huge pile of stuffed animals and characters in front of a screen playing Disney classics.
I found myself buried in that pile one Saturday afternoon, completely unaware that my mother had left to look for me.
When I finally snapped out of my trance, I emerged from the fluffy pit, looked around, and realized I had no idea where I was and no one I recognized was in sight. Anxiety flooded in, and for a little kid, that meant tears.
I vividly remember the relief I felt when I saw my mom entering the store again and heard her voice calling my name. Right when despair hit, I heard my name, and I knew everything would be okay.
We never outgrow the anxiety of feeling lost, but God didn't bring us this far to forget our names.
You might not hear it as clearly as I did when my mom came back into that store, but God calls your name every day.
Minute 2 - What it feels like to feel lost.
Here is Christian author Bob Goff on the feeling of being lost.
As grownups, we usually feel [anxiety] when we suddenly realize we don't recognize the face in the mirror. We feel it when we lose track of the person we set out to become or the principles we sought to live by. It's like who we've become went wandering a bit too far and can't find its way back. - Live in Grace. Walk in Love.
Minute 3 - Don't trust your eyes. Trust your ears.
We live in a generation of the eyes.
As Egypt was in the ancient world, the dominant messages in our culture are: "Do what feels good. Don't settle for things you've lost interest in. If you want it, stop at nothing to get it. Speak your truth."
That is why God moved the Israelites out of the land for the eyes (a culture focused on gaining) into the land for the ears: the wilderness.
God doesn't want us to be people who live by our eyes and our desires. He wants us to be people who live by every word that comes from His mouth. In the wilderness, we learn to listen beyond what we see.
You might not be able to see God right now.
Don't trust your eyes.
You're in the wilderness.
Trust your ears.
ODD VERSE OF THE WEEK
"Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." - 1 John 5:5 (NIV)
This verse gave me goosebumps when I studied it further. Learn how I chose this verse and more about it in my Roll For Verse series. Watch the full episode or read more.
See you next Thursday,
Payton Minzenmayer
P.S. - The meaning behind inner monologues.