Conversation with God

by Karen Keim

“Lord, I am really hurting right now. I can’t quit crying. That person once again spoke to me and treated me in a manner that I don’t deserve.”

“I know how you feel, Karen. I didn’t deserve the treatment I received so long ago. And you know what else? Not that I want to hurt you more, but I don’t deserve the way YOU treat me sometimes either.”

“I know, Lord, and I’m sorry, but can we deal with that later? Right now can we just talk about me? I mean, how much more can I take? How much more SHOULD I take? I have a notion to just e-mail them and give them a piece of my mind!”

“You know, if you really consider yourself religious and don’t keep a tight rein on your tongue, you deceive yourself and your religion is worthless.” (James 1:26)

“So I’m just supposed to sit back and continue to take this treatment at their will?!? Psshh!”

“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (John 15:29b)

“But who do they think they are?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Karen. Who do YOU think YOU are? You’re a sinner saved by my grace. You were once lost, too, you know.” (Ephesians 2:5)

“All right, all right. But, Lord, you know my friend and I have even been praying for them, even going so far as to literally hold in our hands things that belong to them and praying that they would soften their heart, that they would in some way come to accept You. Boy, that’s sure done a lot of good!”

“You don’t think so? Sounds to me like you’ve gotten the attention of satan! Sounds to me like he is on the prowl, like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Are you going to let him get you?” (I Peter 5:14)

“Great! So now what am I supposed to do? I can’t fight SATAN!”

“Resist him. Stand firm in your faith. Be self-controlled and alert.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“I can’t, Lord! Don’t you hear me crying? All I want is to give them a piece of my mind!”

“Don’t you trust me? Don’t you think I can handle this one for you? Don’t take revenge. If there is revenge to be taken, I will take care of it.” (Romans 12:19)

“Well, okay. But I’m just not going to talk to them! If they’re going to treat me like that, I’ll just treat them the same way!”

“Would that really make you feel any better? How about just forgetting about it and turning the other cheek?” (Matthew 5:39)

“Oh, for goodness sakes! I suppose the next thing you’re going to tell me is I should overcome their evil by doing good to them, so it’s kind of like heaping burning coals on their head!” (Romans 12:21)

“You got it! I love you, Karen! Isn’t that enough?”

~This is a rerun of a post in July 2009

Re-Run: It's Time to Wake Up

(*This post is a re-run of a devotion that originally appeared on this blog in September of 2007. It's a wonderful reminder of how God meets us where we are but loves us too much to leave us there.)

by Karen Keim

Verse of the Week: Psalm 73:28, "But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works."

Devotion:
Okay. So here’s the deal. There’s three things I haven’t been very good at lately: 1) exercising; 2) eating breakfast; and 3) spending some good, quality time with the Lord.

I have good intentions, mind you, to do all three better. But I just can’t seem to get there. Every night when I go to bed, I say to myself, “Now, I’m going to get up an hour earlier tomorrow and go for a walk, eat breakfast and spend some time with the Lord.” Well, guess what! Sleep (that’s spelled S-A-T-A-N) always wins. The alarm goes off that hour early, and I think, “Just 15 more minutes.” (Snooze) “Okay. Just five more minutes.” (Snooze) “Well, it’s getting too late now. I might as well just sleep until my regular time.” (And don’t tell me you haven’t been there, too!)

Well, guess what! This morning I beat satan two out of three!!!! Yea!!! Now, which one of those three do you think I just couldn’t work in? Yep, you’re right! EXERCISE! But I had my egg sandwich (with catsup) and I had some quality time with the Lord. And, boy, did He have some things to tell me!

Here’s how it went.I started out praising him for winning the morning battle, telling Him how awesome He is, read a nice little devotion – you know the routine. Then I picked up my Bible and said, “Lord, speak to me through Your Word today,” and I just popped open my Bible, feeling certain that whatever page I opened to, He would have some plain, simple message for me.

Well, hmfph! I opened to Ezekiel 24, where God is giving Ezekiel the words He wanted him to say to the rebellious nation of Judah. It’s all that symbolic jargon. You know what I’m talking about, the kind where as you’re reading, you think, “Yada, yada, yada, whatever that all means!” I almost gave up on it and said, “Let’s try this again,” and opened to another passage.But I remembered how I had asked Him to speak to me and felt that he had led me to the passage He wanted me to hear, so I kept reading.

I get to the part where God tells Ezekiel that with one blow He’s going to kill the person that Ezekiel loves the most! I’m thinking, “Oh, dear, Lord, is that what you wanted me to hear? Is it my husband? Is it one of my boys?” I read on, and God told Ezekiel that He was making Ezekiel an example to the people of Judah of what he was going to do to them. He said (Ezekiel 24:25, God’s Word translation), “Son of man, on that day I will take their stronghold away from them. It makes them happy and proud. It is their hearts’ desire and the thing they love the most.” In other words, the thing the people of Judah loved the most was getting in the way of their obedience and relationship with God.

Hmmm. “Is that what you wanted to say to me, Lord? What is the thing I love and desire the most? What is the thing You want me to give up before You have to take it away from me so that I will put You first?”I laid my head back and closed my eyes and began to think . . . . is it my husband? Is it my son? Is it this, is it . . . and then all of a sudden, as I am about to drift off into my inner thoughts (okay, fall asleep!), it hits me! My eyes pop wide open and I almost laugh! It’s SLEEP! It’s as simple as sleep!

See, sleep is one of my favorite things to do. I took a survey the other day that asked, if you had an extra hour of time given to you, what would you do, and there were four or five options, like read a book, watch a movie, take a hot bath, or SLEEP! Mine was definitely SLEEP! I don’t know if it’s the empty nest thing going on or just old age, but I just can’t seem to get enough sleep these days. I wasn’t always that way. Sure, I liked my Sunday afternoon naps, but given a choice of doing just about ANYTHING these days, I’ll choose sleep. And I do it well! I NEVER have trouble sleeping. Now, if you are a person who has trouble sleeping at night (like my husband) you know what a blessing it is to be able to sleep without difficulty, and I truly believe it’s a blessing!

But I’ve come to the point where, as I said, I would rather sleep than do almost anything else – including spending time with the Lord! It’s what He calls in this verse “my heart’s desire and the thing they love the most.” It’s what’s getting in the way of me being obedient and connecting with Him in the way He wants me to.

So what’s it going to take, Karen? Are you going to give it up willingly, sacrifice a little extra sleep for a little extra time with the Lord, or is He going to have to take it away from you by removing your blessing of being able to sleep with no trouble?

What about you? Maybe you think I got a little carried away here in analyzing what the Lord was saying. Maybe you’re saying I’m making it too simple, comparing something as BIG as destroying the nation of Judah with something as SMALL as removing my ability to sleep.

But I don’t think so. God’s word meets us where we’re at, and He speaks to us in small, simple ways.

Father, thank you for your patience. Help us to put You first, making YOU and time with YOU “our heart’s desire and the thing we love the most”. We love you so much. In Jesus name, Amen.

Application:
Are you listening? Is there something you need to give up willingly so that you can be obedient to what He’s calling you to do? Is there something you need to be sacrificing so that you can spend more time with Him? I promise it will be worth it!

Power Verses:
Psalm 143:10, "Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. Let Thy good Spirit lead me on level ground."(American Standard)
John 10:17, "The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again." (NLT)
Exodus 20:3, "You shall have no other gods before me." (NIV)

Conversation With God

by Karen Keim

“Lord, I am really hurting right now. I can’t quit crying. That person once again spoke to me and treated me in a manner that I don’t deserve.”

“I know how you feel, Karen. I didn’t deserve the treatment I received so long ago. And you know what else? Not that I want to hurt you more, but I don’t deserve the way YOU treat me sometimes either.”

“I know, Lord, and I’m sorry, but can we deal with that later? Right now can we just talk about me? I mean, how much more can I take? How much more SHOULD I take? I have a notion to just e-mail them and give them a piece of my mind!”

“You know, if you really consider yourself religious and don’t keep a tight rein on your tongue, you deceive yourself and your religion is worthless.” (James 1:26)

“So I’m just supposed to sit back and continue to take this treatment at their will?!? Psshh!”

“If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also.” (John 15:29b)

“But who do they think they are?”

“I could ask you the same thing, Karen. Who do YOU think YOU are? You’re a sinner saved by my grace. You were once lost, too, you know.” (Ephesians 2:5)

“All right, all right. But, Lord, you know my friend and I have even been praying for them, even going so far as to literally hold in our hands things that belong to them and praying that they would soften their heart, that they would in some way come to accept You. Boy, that’s sure done a lot of good!”

“You don’t think so? Sounds to me like you’ve gotten the attention of satan! Sounds to me like he is on the prowl, like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Are you going to let him get you?” (I Peter 5:14)

“Great! So now what am I supposed to do? I can’t fight SATAN!”

“Resist him. Stand firm in your faith. Be self-controlled and alert.” (1 Peter 5:8)

“I can’t, Lord! Don’t you hear me crying? All I want is to give them a piece of my mind!”

“Don’t you trust me? Don’t you think I can handle this one for you? Don’t take revenge. If there is revenge to be taken, I will take care of it.” (Romans 12:19)

“Well, okay. But I’m just not going to talk to them! If they’re going to treat me like that, I’ll just treat them the same way!”

“Would that really make you feel any better? How about just forgetting about it and turning the other cheek?” (Matthew 5:39)

“Oh, for goodness sakes! I suppose the next thing you’re going to tell me is I should overcome their evil by doing good to them, so it’s kind of like heaping burning coals on their head!” (Romans 12:21)

“You got it! I love you, Karen! Isn’t that enough?”

Room to Grow

by Karen Keim

This Week's Verse: Song of Solomon 6:11, "I went down to the grove of nut trees to look at the new growth in the valley, to see if the vines had budded or the pomegranates were in bloom." (NIV)

Devotion:
A little over a year ago, a friend sent me a beautiful planter. The pot that held the plants was about six inches by six inches, and it had four different plants in it, each just the right size to make a very nice arrangement. As time went on, of course, the plants began crowding one another as they grew in that small pot. They began looking weak and pitiful. More than once I would think to myself, “I’ve GOT to repot those poor plants.” In fact, my husband suggested that I would be doing those shabby-looking things a favor if I just threw the whole pot away!

Well, here came spring. I was cleaning out my potting shed and came across some pots that were just the right size to repot each of those four malnourished plants. And that I did! I planted each in its own pot, using fresh potting soil, adding a little bit of fertilizer, and put them on my front porch where they get just the right amount of sunlight. Oh my, what BEAUTIFUL plants they’ve each individually become! As I was admiring them just this morning, I couldn’t believe how they had grown and improved in such a short time.

I then got to thinking how that whole scenario is representative of our own lives. We are like those plants. We are “all bunched up” and bound up by the things of this world. We couldn’t grow (spiritually) if we wanted to! We’ve got so much “stuff” of the world crowding in around us. Mind you, it’s not all bad stuff. All of the plants in that pot were “nice”, “good” plants. But they were “sucking the life” out of one another and causing each of them to be weak. Do you have things, people, activities that are sucking the life out of you?

Let’s do a little repotting of ourselves! Don’t do what I did with those plants and put it off. Let’s get out of that “pot” that’s holding us down. Let’s repot ourselves in a spot that has less of the world in it. How about putting yourself in the fresh soil of God’s Word? Get in it!!! And then “fertilize” with prayer.

You know what? I can just see the beautiful, growing, spiritually-nourished person we can each become by doing just that!

Father, forgive us for allowing the worries of this world to choke the life out of us, as Jesus spoke of in his parable of the seeds (Matt. 13:7). Thank you for the chance to start fresh, leaving behind what stifles our growth.

Application:
Identify wordly influences that are leaving you weak and undernourished. What can you do to disentangle yourself from them and start fresh separated from them? Sinking your roots into the Word and getting nourishment from prayer will allow you to blossom.

Power Verses:
Ezekiel 47:12, "Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing."(NIV)
Job 29:19, "For I am like a tree whose roots reach the water,whose branches are refreshed with the dew."(NLT)

Does God Really Care?

by Karen Keim

This Week’s Verse: “For by him ALL things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible. . . ALL things were created by him and for him.” Colossians 1:16 (NIV)

ALL THINGS? Oh, come on now. All things? You mean wiggly spiders and slimy snakes? You mean those pesty mosquitoes and biting fire ants? Hmmm. Does God really care for them? Well, you know, I’ve decided he does. In fact, after I gave it some thought and looked at some scripture, I KNOW he does. Let me tell you how all of this became an issue in this weak mind of mine. (You’ll probably have to work hard to stay with me on this one!)

One day last week while on my lunch hour, I was driving in the south end of our little town when a little puppy appeared in front of my vehicle. I had to stop to keep from hitting the cute little thing, and as I did, I noticed that she was wearing a collar. The poor thing was darting back and forth, trying to keep from getting hit by traffic, apparently without a clue as to which way to go. So, guess what I did. Yep, I got out of my vehicle and picked the little thing up, thinking to myself that some poor child has lost his puppy. I took her home. My husband called the police, and no one had reported a missing puppy, so now what do we do?

Well, the story from here gets a little complicated. I won’t go into ALL of the details, but the next day, the puppy ends up “visiting” my daughter-in-law’s parent’s store (see, I told you it’s confusing) in a town about 20 miles from here. Now, mind you, we were still looking for the owners of this puppy.

While the puppy is at the store, the daughter of an employee comes in and begins to ooh and aah over the puppy and asks if she can take the puppy to the local Rural King to show it to her friend. So, here goes this little puppy on another excursion! The young lady takes the puppy to Rural King and while she is talking to her friend, a patron overhears their conversation. The patron says, “Did you say you found that puppy in Marshall?” (That’s the town we live in.) “I think that puppy belongs to my neighbor. If it does, PLEASE don’t give it back. They totally mistreat the puppy. I’ve called law enforcement and everybody I can think of to report it.”

Yikes! Now what do we do? Well, after an evening of investigating, we discovered that it was indeed the puppy she had spoken of. They hadn’t reported it missing, which told us a lot, and as we all began to think about it, we realized what had just happened – GOD, not me, had rescued this puppy. You don’t think so? Well, I know he did. There were way too many coincidences – no, I mean God-cidents:
* I was driving in an area I’m not normally in.
* I was driving the truck that day – a good thing to haul a puppy in.
* I picked up a puppy – totally out of my character.
* The puppy ends up 20 miles from here for a visit, “just happens” to be taken to the Rural King where the neighbor of the owner “overhears” a conversation . . . well, you get it!

Okay. So you’re probably wondering what happened to the puppy. We sent out e-mails to all of our e-mail contacts, and, lo and behold, we got a response from a grade school teacher who “just happened” to have lost her dog in June and was missing it so terribly she was going to the humane shelter that very weekend to get another one. When my husband and I took the puppy to her, she actually cried because she was so happy to have it! Wow! Did God do an amazing job of orchestrating the rescue of that little puppy or what? HE IS ABSOLUTELY AMAZING!!!

But do you know what the greater lesson is in all of this? If he cares that much about a little puppy, how much more do you think he cares for you? One of my favorite scriptures comes from Matthew 6:26: “Look at the birds of the air, they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?” I KNOW God cares about that little puppy and all of the many other animals he created, but I also know from reading the Scripture that he cares even more for me, who was created in his very own image! Wow!

The Bible is full of references to God’s care for animals. Here are a few:
Psalm 104 says God quenches the thirst of the wild donkey. He causes grass to grow for the cattle. It says the high hills were created for the wild goats and the cliffs for the rock badgers. Did you know that according to the book of Exodus, not only were men and women to rest on the Sabbath day, but also cattle! God DOES care for the animals. They are part of his creation, and he created them for his own good and for his own purpose. And God loves YOU, more than we can ever imagine or realize!

Oh, by the way, today at noon, my friend and I were heading to the Pizza Hut for lunch, and she said, “Oh, look at that dog! I saw that dog yesterday at Wal-Mart! Look, it’s lost! It even has a collar on it . . . “ And I said, “Oh, Lord, not another one!”

Father, how we praise you that you care so lovingly for all the creatures you've created, especially those of us you call sons and daughters! Instill in each of us the full knowledge and confidence that you care so deeply about the intricate details of our lives. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Application: Do you ever get to feeling down and out and wondering if God really cares? Pray the promises of this week’s Power Verses! HE REALLY DOES CARE!

Power Verses:
1 Peter 5:7: “I cast all of my anxiety on you, Lord, because I know you care for me.”

Psalm 55:22: “I cast my cares on you, Lord. You said that you will sustain me and never let the righteous fall.”

Nahum 1:7: “You are so good, Lord. You are a refuge in times of trouble. You care for those who trust in You.”

Romans 8:38-39: “Thank you, God, that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be able to separate me from Your love, which is in Christ Jesus, the Lord.”

Just Think--What If You Did?!?

by Karen Keim

This Week’s Verse: Zechariah 4:6 – “This is the word the Lord spoke to Zerubbabel: You won’t succeed by might or by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord.” (God’s Word translation)

Hey, have you read Bill Hybels’ book “Just Walk Across the Room”? What a read! What a challenge! “Simple Steps Pointing People to Faith”. That’s how the author describes it. Our church just finished a church-wide study of the book, and it’s the talk of the masses!

“Simple”, huh? Scary is more like it! So many “what-if’s”!

What if I sound stupid?
What if they laugh at me?
What if they ask me a question I don’t know the answer to?
What if I really mess it up?
What if they just totally reject me?

But, you know, what if NONE of those things happened? What if you prayed for the Spirit to first place you in a situation where you could share your faith and then what if you prayed that the Spirit would totally take over and do all of the talking for you? Do you really think that God is going to let you down? Let me share a recent event where I found out what if!

It’s the day of my birthday, and my sweet, loving husband took me out for a nice dinner. I’m feeling especially light-hearted. After all, it is my birthday! Our waiter comes to our table and plops himself down in one of the extra chairs at our table, letting out a sigh as he does so. I said (as I look at his name tag), “Well, have a seat and join us, Dave.” Conversation ensued and as we’re talking, I had the feeling this was one of those opportunities God was giving me to “walk across the room”.

Upon learning it was my birthday and following along that path of conversation for a while, Dave made a statement about how he just recently realized that growing older was inevitable and that he decided he should be taking better care of himself so that he could see “old age”. (By the way, Dave is a college kid, mid-20’s, and I’m sure his comment about “old age” had nothing to do with his perception of me!) Dave said, “Yeah, I sure don’t like to think about dying!” Right out of my mouth came the words, “Well, unless you know Jesus and you’re going to heaven! Do you know Jesus?” CAN YOU BELIEVE I JUST BLURTED THAT OUT? (Thank you, Spirit!) Dave said, “Well, I’m not really religious, and I’m the kind of person that has to find things out for myself. I don’t like to be told what I should or shouldn’t do.” Feeling a little defensive, Dave? Afraid you’ve got a “Jesus Freak” here on your hands that’s going to start thumping her Bible and preaching? I just simply, light-heartedly said, “I know what you mean. But you ought to try Him!”

We had a great dinner, and Dave was a very good, attentive waiter. We had a fun time with him, joking and sharing each time he came by. At one of his last stops by the table, guess who brought THE subject up this time??? DAVE!!! Wow! Had I planted a seed of thought in his mind? That wasn’t so hard! Dave said something to the effect, “Yeah, I believe in God, but, man, my grandparents have really turned me off. They are totally decaffeinated in every aspect of their lives, claiming to be such great Christians, and they are the rudest, most abusive people I know!” Yikes! What do I say now, Spirit? I once again said, “Yeah, I know what you mean, and I’m sorry about that. Unfortunately, that’s what often gives Christianity a bad name. But, really, that’s not how all Christians act – or should act. You really ought to give it a try!”

That’s all I did! It wasn’t really that hard at all! But I KNOW I planted a seed in that young man’s mind, a seed that now I have the opportunity to pray will grow and be fertilized by others so that some day a bountiful harvest will come from that seed! We left that evening promising to come back and to look for him to be our waiter next time. I told him when I did, I wanted to hear about all the good things that had been happening to him since we saw him last, praying in my mind that one of them would be that he had “tried” Jesus.


Spirit, thank you for living in me, for taking over when I don’t know what to say or when I don’t have the guts to say it. You are amazing! Right now I pray for Dave and for others like him that need You in their lives. Give us strength to ‘walk across the room’ and plant those seeds and to allow You to work in Your ways to obtain the harvest. Forgive us when we have failed to be the picture of Christ that would attract others to You. Amen.

Application: Who do you need to share your faith with? As we have learned, it doesn’t have to be a big, long-winded story. All you need to do is plant a seed and let the Lord take it from there. Pray for the Spirit to put you in a situation where you have an opportunity to plant a seed, and then BE BOLD and trust Him to speak the words!

Power Verses:
John 14:14 -- “If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.” (New American Standard)
Hebrews 13:6 – “The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid. What shall man do to me?”
Philippians 4:13 – “I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me.”

It's Time to Wake Up

by Karen Keim

Verse of the Week: Psalm 73:28--But as for me, the nearness of God is my good. I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all Thy works.

Okay. So here’s the deal. There’s three things I haven’t been very good at lately: 1) exercising; 2) eating breakfast; and 3) spending some good, quality time with the Lord. I have good intentions, mind you, to do all three better. But I just can’t seem to get there. Every night when I go to bed, I say to myself, “Now, I’m going to get up an hour earlier tomorrow and go for a walk, eat breakfast and spend some time with the Lord.” Well, guess what! Sleep (that’s spelled S-A-T-A-N) always wins. The alarm goes off that hour early, and I think, “Just 15 more minutes.” (Snooze) “Okay. Just five more minutes.” (Snooze) “Well, it’s getting too late now. I might as well just sleep until my regular time.” (And don’t tell me you haven’t been there, too!)

Well, guess what! This morning I beat satan two out of three!!!! Yea!!! Now, which one of those three do you think I just couldn’t work in? Yep, you’re right! EXERCISE! But I had my egg sandwich (with catsup) and I had some quality time with the Lord. And, boy, did He have some things to tell me! Here’s how it went.

I started out praising him for winning the morning battle, telling Him how awesome He is, read a nice little devotion – you know the routine. Then I picked up my Bible and said, “Lord, speak to me through Your Word today,” and I just popped open my Bible, feeling certain that whatever page I opened to, He would have some plain, simple message for me. Well, hmfph! I opened to Ezekiel 24, where God is giving Ezekiel the words He wanted him to say to the rebellious nation of Judah. It’s all that symbolic jargon. You know what I’m talking about, the kind where as you’re reading, you think, “Yada, yada, yada, whatever that all means!” I almost gave up on it and said, “Let’s try this again,” and opened to another passage.

But I remembered how I had asked Him to speak to me and felt that he had led me to the passage He wanted me to hear, so I kept reading. I get to the part where God tells Ezekiel that with one blow He’s going to kill the person that Ezekiel loves the most! I’m thinking, “Oh, dear, Lord, is that what you wanted me to hear? Is it my husband? Is it one of my boys?” I read on, and God told Ezekiel that He was making Ezekiel an example to the people of Judah of what he was going to do to them. He said (Ezekiel 24:25, God’s Word translation), “Son of man, on that day I will take their stronghold away from them. It makes them happy and proud. It is their hearts’ desire and the thing they love the most.” In other words, the thing the people of Judah loved the most was getting in the way of their obedience and relationship with God. Hmmm. “Is that what you wanted to say to me, Lord? What is the thing I love and desire the most? What is the thing You want me to give up before You have to take it away from me so that I will put You first?”

I laid my head back and closed my eyes and began to think . . . . is it my husband? Is it my son? Is it this, is it . . . and then all of a sudden, as I am about to drift off into my inner thoughts (okay, fall asleep!), it hits me! My eyes pop wide open and I almost laugh! It’s SLEEP! It’s as simple as sleep! (Stay with me here!) See, sleep is one of my favorite things to do. I took a survey the other day that asked, if you had an extra hour of time given to you, what would you do, and there were four or five options, like read a book, watch a movie, take a hot bath, or SLEEP! Mine was definitely SLEEP! I don’t know if it’s the empty nest thing going on or being married to a cop all of these years or just old age, but I just can’t seem to get enough sleep these days. I wasn’t always that way. Sure, I liked my Sunday afternoon naps, but given a choice of doing just about ANYTHING these days, I’ll choose sleep. And I do it well! I NEVER have trouble sleeping.

Now, if you are a person who has trouble sleeping at night (like my husband) you know what a blessing it is to be able to sleep without difficulty, and I truly believe it’s a blessing! But I’ve come to the point where, as I said, I would rather sleep than do almost anything else – including spending time with the Lord! It’s what He calls in this verse “my heart’s desire and the thing they love the most.” It’s what’s getting in the way of me being obedient and connecting with Him in the way He wants me to.

So what’s it going to take, Karen? Are you going to give it up willingly, sacrifice a little extra sleep for a little extra time with the Lord, or is He going to have to take it away from you by removing your blessing of being able to sleep with no trouble?

What about you? Maybe you think I got a little carried away here in analyzing what the Lord was saying. Maybe you’re saying I’m making it too simple, comparing something as BIG as destroying the nation of Judah with something as SMALL as removing my ability to sleep. But I don’t think so. God’s word meets us where we’re at, and He speaks to us in small, simple ways.

Father, thank you for your patience. Help us to put You first, making YOU and time with YOU “our heart’s desire and the thing we love the most”. We love you so much. In Jesus name, Amen.

Application:
Are you listening? Is there something you need to give up willingly so that you can be obedient to what He’s calling you to do? Is there something you need to be sacrificing so that you can spend more time with Him? I promise it will be worth it!

Power Verses:
Psalm 143:10—Teach me to do Thy will, for Thou art my God. Let Thy good Spirit lead me on level ground. (American Standard)
John 10:17—The Father loves me because I sacrifice my life so I may take it back again. (NLT)
Exodus 20:3—You shall have no other gods before me. (NIV)