In Moments Like These

Not every Sunday is a red-letter day in the life of a preacher. There are some days we don’t hit a home run. You know, those days when it is difficult to focus, days when we’ve had struggles at home (illness, contention, money concerns, etc.), or days we just didn’t feel like preaching?

What do we do with days, weeks, or even seasons like these? How do we find the resolve to keep on keeping on? What will help us refrain from throwing in the towel?

I heard a preacher recently who made the suggestion that one of the most dangerous and incorrect words in the dictionary is the word, “self.” He spoke of some of the ways we use this word, such as, “self-esteem,” “self-awareness,” “self-importance,” “self-help,” “self-gratification,” “self-consciousness.” You get the picture. If I remember correctly, he said there are more than 300 “self” words in the English language!

This may be one of the keys to getting through moments when life is the most challenging. As difficult as it may be, if we could take the focus away from self and remember that our focus should be on Him, we might have a better chance to overcome.

We need more God-consciousness and less self-consciousness. Adam and Eve sinned when they ate the forbidden fruit. They realized they were naked, and they were ashamed. Is it possible that their self-awareness helped create their shame? Call to mind, Elijah’s self-pity creating the false image in his mind that he alone was doing the work of God. Or David’s need to please himself leading him to commit adultery and murder!

When we are less self-aware and more God-aware, we will be able to work our way through the most challenging moments. Our brother, John, understood our need to focus on God when he wrote, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away and also its lusts, but the one who does the will of God continues to live forever.” (1 John 2:16-17)