As I was going through the events of October 2005 I asked myself a question, “What excuse will be good enough for not giving my entire life to do the Lord’s will?”

    I imagined myself standing before the Lord on judgement day and Him asking me what I did with my life.  If I would’ve died that very day it I would’ve said, “Well, I worked hard, raised my family, and went to church.”  When it came down to it, that was pretty much the sum of it.  Then I can imagine the Lord question me, “Why didn’t you live for me instead?”

    So I thought (and still do) about that.  What excuse will be good enough for the Lord to not put all my energy into serving Him and doing His work?

    I was living my life trying to figure out how I could manage doing God’s work in my lifestyle.  Trying to make it where it wasn’t a burden to live the way I lived AND add to it the Lord’s work.  What does “live the way I did” mean?  It came down to meaning working 40+ hours a week at my job.

    Why did I have to work for and in the world that many hours a week?  Well, the answer is obvious, I had to pay my bills.  The bills being the house payment, utilities, insurance, food, clothing, etc.  We all can relate to this.  As I thought about these things, Matthew 6:25 came to mind:

"So I tell you, don’t worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food, drink, and clothes. Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing?

    Jesus is literally saying “Don’t take thought of, or care for, or worry for the ‘daily essentials’.”  I’ve read this verse hundreds of time…in unbelief.  I’m sure I’m not alone.  The scary part isn’t that He says not to worry about those things, but it’s the last sentence.  “Doesn’t life consist of more than food and clothing?”  I say, “Surely it does!”.  But my life actions proved otherwise.  It’s not that Jesus says that He will provide all these things for us (although I do believe He will based off of the entirety of the gospels), it’s that He offends the flesh by saying “Doesn’t life mean more than these things?”

    I think deep down we all want to agree with this statement.  But in reality “food and clothing” is what drives our lives.  Think about it.  If Jesus is saying life consists of more than food, drink and clothing, how much more does life consist of more than our houses and cars and toys?!  That’s scary.  It’s scary because that’s all that we truly live for.

    The only reason why I worked at my job was to pay for the things I wanted to maintain.  Things that Jesus told me not to take thought of, or care for.  But I not only worried about these things, I centered my entire lifestyle around them.  Half of my waking hours were spent expending physical energy towards these things, and this was just working 45 hours a week.  It doesn’t account for the mental time and energy and maintenance of these things.

    I had to take a serious look at my life compared to Matthew 6:25.  I had to determine whether I was truly trusting Jesus and working and living soley for Him, or if I was kidding myself.   Was I honestly helping Him build His Kingdom, or I was too busy trying to build my own?  The answer was frightening for more reasons than I could count.

What To Take From This:  You must first realize this whole thing is a PROCESS.  As the Lord gives you truth, acknowledge it and allow HIM to guide you through it.  Don’t try to do anything on your own.  Our walk with the Lord is a continual realization of how we need to grow in the image of the Son.  We simply recognize our errors and repent, or trade our ways for the Father’s ways.  Turn from the way we do things and do things the way our Father in heaven instructs us to do them.
   Ask yourself this question:  “Do I worry about everyday provision such as food, drink and clothing?” Don’t just ask that question, but examine your way of life and how much energy and time you put in assuring yourself that you will have such things.  If you didn’t have your job, would you worry about it then?  And ask yourself, “How would I live my life if I didn’t need to worry about these things and expend energy to acquire them?”  Take these thoughts and meditate on them and bring them before the Lord so that He can guide you into the truths of His Kingdom.