Day 2287 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

James 4:4 NIV

Yesterday I shared with you all one of the biggest lessons that I'd learned from a mistake that I regret. Today is the second of those mistakes that I made back when I graduated from high school. Two mistakes, two regrets, two massive lessons that I was given the chance to learn on the same day! It really is amazing what God can help us learn when we're willing to pay attention and not think that we know better than He does.

The night after graduation our school had something called Project Graduation. It was basically a party for our graduating class at a local family center. A night of games, food, prizes, just all sorts of fun stuff. So I went. I jacked my arm up playing dodgeball for roughly 5-6 hours straight. I won a golf glove and a round of golf that I don't think I ever even used. And when it was all done, we said our goodbyes and that was it. That phase of life had passed by and the next was under way.

I went to that thing to spend a little more time with my friends. But looking back now, I realize that I missed the chance to spend that time celebrating with my family. One of the biggest celebrations of my young life up to that point, and I spent the night partying with friends instead of celebrating with those who were closest to me. Just about all of those friends have gone their separate ways and I haven't spoken to barely any of them in years. Those friendships that I thought were so important were more temporary than I could have imagined! But the ones that I didn't celebrate with are still here. That's a lesson for you!!

As with the lesson I talked about yesterday, we do the same thing with God. We choose to spend our time focused on building worldly relationships because we think they're as important as it gets. And while spending our time hanging out with the world, we don't realize that we're missing out on spending that time with our Father. We choose something temporary over something that is eternal. We pour ourselves into building and maintaining friendship with the world not realizing that doing so pulls us away from a relationship that's exponentially stronger.

We have to understand that this world and everything in it is temporary. We can't become so wrapped up in the here and now that we forget all about what comes next. We can't allow the world around us to become our priority because doing so will pull us away from God. Friends, God will always be there. He will always love, support, and encourage us. This world sure won't! Don't miss out on spending time with Him for anything. Our relationships with Him will always matter because He isn't temporary. He is eternal. Pretty clear to see why time spent with Him will always mean more than time spent focused on the world!

#LeaveNoSoulUntold