Yesterday morning was one of the most hectic days I have experienced (this week at least). It was supposed to be an average class day for me—I would go to class, go to work and then spend the rest evening however I pleased. Unfortunately, my day took an unexpected turn. After leaving class, I made it to my car, reached in my backpack and could not find my keys. I spent an hour after class trying to find them. I went to the school coffee shop and bookstore to see if I had left my keys in there — nothing. After coming to terms with the fact that I would be spending the rest of my day on campus, I went to the restroom and as I was leaving I reached into the pocket of my backpack one last time and low and behold – my keys were sitting right at the bottom of the bag.
I was frustrated with myself but so excited I had found them. I did not think twice before I ran to my car to go to the bank and get to work. I drove across town, pulled up to the bank drive thru and my wallet was missing. I wanted to cuss. I got out of line, tore the inside of my car apart looking everywhere for my wallet and it was nowhere to be found. I was on the brink of tears when I realized what I had unknowingly misplaced could actually be permanently lost.
Losing my keys, and later my wallet, meant losing the means to an end. I would lose transportation to get where I needed to go and I would lose all means of paying for food or anything else I would need that day. Fortunately, I found my keys and I was able to go by my bank and withdrawal with other verification, but how is it that I let something so important get lost in the first place? I know how important these things were to me and how much I relied on them, but it is because I took them for granted that I felt so helpless when they went missing.
In my prayers, I’ve realized the same thing can be true. I will regularly thank God for another day, but I usually pray with a kind of familiarity. It is good to be comfortable in your relationship with Christ like a father and his child. Vulnerability is not lost when there is comfort. But am I too comfortable? As I continue my mundane, and often times, mindless prayer have I lost sight of who God is and how incredible He is?
Our faith is not only a tool to get us through the day. God is not there to just make sure we do not screw up or receive our lists of requests that we throw at Him (though he does guide us and he absolutely cares about our problems). God is the God of the entire universe. He wants us to be awestruck by His goodness and majesty. We need to see God as less of a security blanket and something we use to get us where we’re trying to get and more as the King of Majesty, worthy of praise and someone we so desperately need and long for at all times.
How can we shake off the calmness of being so used to God for the realization of who God is and what Jesus means for us?
Tell yourself the truth about God: Who is God? Majestic, beautiful, all-knowing, unchanging, ever-loving. That’s who God is. When you know how great someone is you won’t let them slip away or forget how much they mean to you.
Rediscover the story: The cross and the crucifixion-- that was for you. That awesome God I just attempted to describe as best I can loves you. He died for you and loves you more than you could possibly comprehend. That is something to be excited and rejuvenated about daily.
Step outside of yourself: It is really easy to get so caught up in our hectic lifestyles that we forget where our success and opportunities are coming from. They most definitely were not accomplished on our own. It was the guidance and direction of God that led us to the specific place He wanted us to do the exact thing He’s calling us to do.
Losing my keys was an opportunity to realize God is moving in my life but I need to slow down to remember, to worship and rethink my motives. Psalm 51:12 has been my prayer which says, “Restore to me the joy of Your salvation and sustain me with a willing spirit.”
Give me back the joy – help me remember where I once was, where I deserve to be and the graciousness you have shown me when I first came to know who Jesus was. I want to be upheld from falling into my routine ways and passive expression that I encounter on a daily basis. I want my first impulse, my first thought, my first response when I start my car to be thankfulness and an understanding of who God is and who I am not without Him.
