Day 1936 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Romans 12:2 NIV

My past few posts have been building up to this one. This is one of my personal favorites, and even though I know I've shared it several times in the past, it's just one of those messages that we need to lean on in times like these. There's so much going on right now, and I'd venture to guess that most of us are just trying to find our way through the mess. It's in days like we're experiencing lately that we need to cling to the power of our faith.

The point that I've been building up to is that we can't lose ourselves in this world. I know that there's a ton of things vying for our attention right now. And with all that constant noise around us, it can be next to impossible to stay focused. We're being barraged with all kinds of messages, movements, changes, updates, and more than enough things to worry about. But again, we don't need to lose ourselves in the midst of it all.

I just want to remind you guys that this isn't our home. We will not be here forever. There is something coming next, and at some point, our ticket on this journey runs out and we're off to the next stop. That's exactly why we cannot afford to risk losing ourselves, losing sight of what matters, or being led in directions that just don't do anything for us. And that's exactly what can happen when we take our eyes off of God and start paying too much attention to the things of this world.

Now I'm in no way saying that we should just ignore everything that's going on. That's not the case. I'm just saying that we need to keep our priorities straight and never allow anything to change them. Faith cannot take the backseat because our world is saying something else means more at the moment. Our walk with Christ can't just be set aside for a bit because we're focused on all these other things. Not meant to work that way.

No matter who you are, we are all following and focused on something. And the things that we're following and focused on have a massive impact on our lives. Thankfully, we get a say. We have the right to choose what we deem to be important. We have the responsibility to figure out our priorities and do whatever it takes to keep them all in line. And whether we like it or not, there are just certain things that will always be so much more important than others.

Folks, don't lose yourself right now. Don't lose your faith. Don't lose your trust in God. Don't buy this idea that following the ways of the world is more important than following Christ's lead in your life. Don't accept this mindset that being like the world means more than being the person God made you to be. Could not be further from the truth. So never allow anything to convince you to take your eyes off of God.

We don't need to be like the world. We don't need to do as the world does. We don't need to follow the paths the world takes. We don't need to get involved in every fight that we're invited to. Sometimes we need to step back from it all and just refocus on God. Sometimes we need to let the world go on doing what it wants to do and just follow where God is trying to lead us. And believe it or not, those sometimes are a lot more frequent that we think.

Don't lose yourself. This world will always offer up an endless amount of things that it has decided are important. Please never be afraid to think differently. Never be afraid to live differently. Our whole goal should be to follow Christ and live out God's plans for our lives. If it just so happens that they look differently, then we should be thankful. Fitting in with the world will never mean as much as following God wherever He may take us. Because after all, He's leading us someplace that this world can't take us.