Futile Living

You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes. Thus says the LORD of hosts, Consider you ways. Haggai 1:6,7

It is easy to pour our energies into something only to have the results come up insufficient for what we hoped for. People are capable of doing the right things without gaining the full benefits.
My younger brother, Timmy, was born with Cystic Fibrosis in 1970. He died at the tender age of 9. His physical condition pictured this verse so well. Before he was diagnosed with CF he was literally starving to death. Although we fed him, his body could not properly digest the food. He ate but received no nutritional value from the food. Upon being properly diagnosed he was put on medication that compensated for his physical weakness.

In the spiritual realm we must come to the place of realizing we too are malnourished and in need of God's compensation. When I spent decades living my Christian life out of fear, duty, and performance the emptiness and frustration were waiting to envelope me. God had to teach me to take an honest look at my way of living the Christian life. There were several reasons for my unsatisfactory results.

I had a wrong view of God for one. I saw Him as a harsh judge with love that was dependent on what I did for him. I cannot tell you the freedom that engulfed me when I realized His love was unconditional. My actions would not diminish or increase His love for me.

I depended on other Christians to define my Christian life for me. I felt better if my standards came from them. My Christian life had been reduced to the external rather than the internal world. God always desires that our hearts would affect our actions....not the other way around. The denominational walls were built, versions of the Bible were suspect, and music was VERY limited. It had become a recipe for disaster.

Father, You wanted me to know there was abundant freedom if I would just open my hands to receive all You had for me. I do so with joy! Amen.