How Did We Get Here?

Have ever looked at the landscape of your life and wondered, how did I get here? I feel that way as I look out the window of my apartment complex in Los Angeles. Whenever I sit on my balcony and look out at my street, I see the palm trees in the distance and a small sliver of the city skyline at night. I think how crazy that is. I'm a girl from Maine who loves autumn and appreciates cold winters. Yet here I am living in 90-degree weather in a place that feels nothing like home. How did I get here?

Then I look at the state of our nation and wonder, how did we get here? I look at the church, and I wonder how did we get here as a church? I look at my weight and wonder, how did I get here? (Joking). But the answer is simple. We (or I) got here through a series of choices. We make choices every day that change the course of our lives. In relationships, we can choose to be present or not. These choices can make or break even the most precious of relationships.

I hope if we are learning anything in 2020, it is that our choices matter. I think one of the greatest things this year has brought is that we are starting to realize the impact that our decisions have. Who we cast our vote for, what we stand up for, what we give our hearts to, matters.

Where am I going with this train of thought? Well, if our choices matter and each one has the potential for a long-term impact, then isn't it safe to say that we should choose wisely? If we knew the impact that our choices could have, would we choose differently?

What if I told you that your choice to place God first in your life has the most impact of all? Most people see and know me as the "house of prayer girl" or the "lover of God girl." While these are assumptions that I gladly receive, the truth is, much of my life has required fighting for this place of keeping God first. I’ve had to wrestle with my comforts and sometimes lack of desire for God. Sometimes for days, weeks, and months, I've felt the ache in my own heart for God, yet have not turned to Him.

Can we be honest about that? In a culture of instant gratification, can we be honest that sometimes we want to indulge in food, tv, and fun more than we desire God? I know it's not the Christian thing to say. But can we lay down our religion and our walls we hide behind? Can we admit that sometimes we don't feel hungry for God?

I honestly believe that sometimes the reason that we want other things more is not that God is not enough. I believe we are too impatient sometimes. We expect that if we don’t feel God’s presence within the first few minutes of our prayer time, He is not going to come through. So we just give up. We move on before we even know the outcome.

But probably the most beautiful thing about God is that He doesn’t always give us what we want because He knows what we need. He knows that we need to learn how to choose Him when we feel like it and especially when we don’t. He knows that if we choose Him because He makes us feel good, then we might not choose Him every time. It’s easy to choose God when He is pouring out His love and secrets about our future. But what about when God pours out His love through a correction? Will we still choose Him? Or will we turn on the old faithful tv that we have convinced ourselves is not able to disappoint?

The reality is, we often choose things that comfort us to drown out the sound of our hearts and minds when we hurt. We hurt when we have unanswered questions or unfulfilled dreams. We get angry at the state of our world. Sometimes we feel so much fear about the future. We hurt when someone rejects us. We feel pain when we hurt others. So we drown out all these emotions with the things that instantly silence the noise. But the thing about using these temporary tools is that they are temporary. Temporary things can never produce eternal results.

Remember John 4 and the woman at the well? Jesus came to this Samaritan woman at a well as she was filling up on water. When He saw her, He began to tell her everything about her life, including the many husbands that she had. Amazed, she began to guess at who He (being Jesus) could be. He told her that this water from the well that you drink is temporary, but the water I give is eternal. Drink of the water I give you and never thirst again. They continued this conversation, but when it ended, she left the well and ran into town to tell everyone what had happened. But the one detail that always stuns me, is that the bible says she left her water jar behind. To me, that symbolized that she had turned away from earthly water to satisfy her thirst because she had met Jesus, the living water, the well that never runs dry.

Boy, do I want that kind of clarity the woman at the well had. The kind of clarity that says i don't need my water pot anymore. In one moment, her life was simplified, the fog cleared, and suddenly it was Jesus and only Jesus.

God wants to encounter you. He wants you to know today that He is the well that will never run dry. He wants you to know that you can lay aside less important things to make Him the one thing. The question is, will you leave your water pot behind? Will you choose him first and let other things be secondary? Will you make it your aim to choose Him every day? I promise you, those choices add up.

Maybe then we will see more of the church in the streets than in a building. Maybe then, will we see our nation turn back to God. Because when you put God first, suddenly the only thing that matters is Jesus and His life lived out through You. That’s it.

So I want to challenge you, as I’ve been challenging myself recently. Choose God. Not because you feel like it, but because you know your soul is lost without Him. Choose Him because you know that He is your source of life and without Him, you die. Choose Him because you know that while all these other things offer you temporary satisfaction, He offers you eternal life.

Will you choose Him?

Xo - Leah