Red Flag Warning
This is just what I needed to read tonight. Psalm 119 is one that draws me back to itself time and time again. It is always a fresh word for my soul. Verse 92 says, "If your law had not been my delight, I would have perished in my affliction. I will never forget your precepts, for by them you have preserved my life." I agree with Beth's comment, "Without the Word of God as my daily bread I would honestly be buried in a pit so deep that I wouldn't recognize daylight."
I have had a few interesting conversations with friends lately. Amy was talking about how this beautiful pink blouse for work kept hopping into her Target shopping cart. Emily mentioned when she walked by a jewelry counter at Nordstorm the sales lady beckoned her to just "play". She tried on a stunning necklace that looked amazing on her and she came home with a catalog. I was sharing how I have been marking email from stores I enjoy as SPAM lately, because I keep wanting to shop. We all have been thinking the same things, I need that, it's beautiful, it's good for me, I can't live with out it, I won't be happy if I don't have it. Then an emptiness sets in. A sense that we are discontent, we don't have the life we want, the life we want, includes THAT and maybe we aren't happy. It's like a crazy scene from Lord of the Rings with the Precious Ring. Amy took the shirt out of her cart. Emily threw the catalog away and realized, this is so stupid! There is nothing wrong with a shirt or a necklace, but when you start to feel bad about yourself with out them there is a RED FLAG WARNING. These friends of mine were modeling self control and restraint. They were throwing the 'precious ring' away from them so they could again see clearly. Emily mentioned how she wanted to be careful, she was realizing how crucial it was to keep working out her spiritual muscles.
We are bombarded daily with worthless things that reinforce a warped world view. Sometimes those things are good, but sometimes they steal my joy. So again tonight I pray for me and my friends from Psalm 119:37 "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." For daily I am tempted and the truth is I am weak. I need a few good friends and the strong, true, and stead word of God guiding me back to solid ground.
I have had a few interesting conversations with friends lately. Amy was talking about how this beautiful pink blouse for work kept hopping into her Target shopping cart. Emily mentioned when she walked by a jewelry counter at Nordstorm the sales lady beckoned her to just "play". She tried on a stunning necklace that looked amazing on her and she came home with a catalog. I was sharing how I have been marking email from stores I enjoy as SPAM lately, because I keep wanting to shop. We all have been thinking the same things, I need that, it's beautiful, it's good for me, I can't live with out it, I won't be happy if I don't have it. Then an emptiness sets in. A sense that we are discontent, we don't have the life we want, the life we want, includes THAT and maybe we aren't happy. It's like a crazy scene from Lord of the Rings with the Precious Ring. Amy took the shirt out of her cart. Emily threw the catalog away and realized, this is so stupid! There is nothing wrong with a shirt or a necklace, but when you start to feel bad about yourself with out them there is a RED FLAG WARNING. These friends of mine were modeling self control and restraint. They were throwing the 'precious ring' away from them so they could again see clearly. Emily mentioned how she wanted to be careful, she was realizing how crucial it was to keep working out her spiritual muscles.
We are bombarded daily with worthless things that reinforce a warped world view. Sometimes those things are good, but sometimes they steal my joy. So again tonight I pray for me and my friends from Psalm 119:37 "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." For daily I am tempted and the truth is I am weak. I need a few good friends and the strong, true, and stead word of God guiding me back to solid ground.
right on. I so needed to hear this, especially with the holiday season on my doorstep. I love the image of throwing the ring so I can see clearly. thanks for sharing, Jen!
ReplyDelete