MoMEnt oF YouR tIMe

May I have a moment of your time?

I don't want to temporarily distract you from the ebbs and flows of this life. I wouldn't dare whisk you away into the imaginary so you can escape the harsh reality of this life. I just want to talk to you...about a moment. I just want to encourage your heart. I just want to remind you of something that you perhaps didn't know.

You matter.

May I have a moment of your time to tell you how great you are? It should be something you have heard, at least, once before. It's not because of your last name or how much money you have in your bank accounts? It's not because of how influential you are at work or how you look in jeans or how spot-on your hot take is. It's because of something so much more impacting. It's because of something that doesn't fade away with time or age. You possess within you a treasure...

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV)

Got a sec? Deep down, that blows your mind and I understand why. You might have lived under the shadow of someone else's expectation and never meeting the standard. I get that you always do your best and feel like it's never enough. How many times have you asked yourself, "Why me?"

We cover it with makeup, high priced dresses, and power suits but this vessel, or your body, fades with every second. Isaiah 40:8 reminds us that the "grass dries up and the flower withers, but the Word of our God will stand forever." These bodies, just like the grass or a flower are subject to the heat of challenge and struggle and will inevitably fade. We treat accountability and responsibility as occasional catchphrases or points of contention but we were born with this. Much of our world is in disarray because we are "out of position."

It's why our days seem out of alignment and why our nights are without peace. It's why that co-worker can irk you so easily and set your whole day off-kilter. It's why that driver cutting you off on the road can raise your blood pressure to unhealthy levels. It's why even the slightest change in your routine can send you into a downward spiral.

Are you having a bad day every weekday not named Friday? Assigning blame to the devil is often a fruitless exercise. Just like getting mad at a critter that tears up your furniture and rummages through your trash but you routinely leave your front door open. Is the blame on the animal that only does what is in its nature or does fault rest on the person who didn't protect and manage what they are solely responsible for? Something to consider, just for a moment.

We spend so much time obsessing about what others say or think about us, all the while pretending that we don't care when we really do. You are the product. God is the manufacturer. You are viable and profitable. You are designed with purpose, function, and vitality. Your life was thought out with care and consideration. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Who indeed knows you better than the originator of the hand-crafted, magnificent, God-breathed specimen that you are? When your Hyundai breaks down, you don't call Ford! When your Westinghouse is on the fritz, you don't call technical support for Target! Same premise. 

I don't care what "they" say about you. You matter. You are not worthless. You are not a failure. You don't need followers to validate your worth. You don't need to adapt to what is popular. You matter. You can't be a loser because the battle is already won for those that side with the "victor". You matter.

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:7-9 NIV)

May I have a moment of your time to tell you that the hotter the fire feels indicates the closer you are to the core of the issue? The more intense the challenge and resistance you are experiencing indicates how close you are to the answer you need. The ant in Proverbs 6 teaches us to work, move, and press into what we need regardless of the season. The ant consistently maintains discipline and doesn't break pattern to please man. They work towards the goal until it is fully accomplished. We are commanded in John 9:4 to work while it is day for a time will come when no one will work any longer.

Press in. Take that next step. Your breakthrough is closer than it appears. You're almost there. Keep moving. Keep pressing. Do not be denied. Hebrews 12:1-2 encourages us that all we go through has a purpose and we have a cheering session that is counting on us. We are blessed with the privilege of doing what so many before us could not do. We are finishing the race.

And in a moment, everything can change.......
Tomorrow is going to be better.