The Lesser ThingsSample

I was in graduate school when I decided to move out of my parent’s house. I was so tired of being at home. I never went away to college and having a curfew when you’re in your 20s is NOT cool. My college friend had her own apartment and we used to have THE best time together. So when she asked me to move in with her, I jumped at the idea. How fun would that be to live with one of my best girlfriends AND be out from under my parents' roof? Yes, please! It wasn’t until after I moved out that I quickly realized that I now had to support myself. I had to buy my own groceries, pay rent, pay bills, pay for gas in my car. I no longer had the support and covering of my parents. It didn’t take long before I racked up credit card debt and recognized how much my parents did for me. I had always taken it for granted.

I believe we find ourselves in this position many times with God, our Father. We don’t recognize that what He does for us is so much better than what we can do for ourselves. We don’t realize all that He is doing to support us, supply for us, provide for us, protect us. We just take it for granted. All of His grace, mercy, provision, protection, forgiveness, love… we can’t see it and for many of us, it’s something we don’t even think about on a daily basis. 

I’ve found that I like to fill my life with things that feel good in the moment. Instead of relying on God’s provision and sovereignty (authority) over my life, I tend to try to rely on my own strength. I exhaust myself doing all the things. I stay up at night with anxiety and worry about what will be.  My anxiety turns into trying to control everything around me, in a futile attempt to regain some structure in my life. At the end of the day, I’m completely exhausted and have nothing left in me.  Maybe it’s just me... But I have a feeling that if I were sitting across from you right now, we could swap stories and laugh (or cry) about how often we have assumed that we know more than anyone else - including God, all the while choosing the lesser things and living beneath what He has in store for us.

In our Bible scripture today, you’re going to read a story about a young man who thought he knew more than his father and more than his Father. He thought he would take matters into his own hands and leave his home and all he’s ever known because he assumed that what was out in the world was better than what his father was providing. He had to find out the hard way that our Father always knows exactly what we need.

I pray that today, you would take some time to remember that you have a loving Father who calls you Sons and Daughters. He is eagerly waiting to step in and help you with whatever it is that you’re facing today. In fact, He is not only waiting for you, He is running towards you to meet you halfway. You just need to make the first move.

Prayer: God, my Heavenly Father, I’m sorry for running away from You and doing things on my own. I thought I knew better. I thought I had a better plan than You but now I see how wrong I was. I thank You that right now, You welcome me back home and that from this day forth, I’m covered under You. Thank You for being my loving Father who never gave up on me. Thank You for waiting for me. I’m back home. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Worship: To You by Maverick City