Day 2534 of the 7 day Bible verse challenge.

Proverbs 3:6 NIV

We hear a lot about the hills and valleys of life. Now many of them are things that we can't control. We can't decide the external things that come our way. But the internal, well, that's another story altogether. We can control the choices we make. We can control the things that we prioritize. We can decide here and now what matters most to us, and in doing so, we can eliminate some of those ups and downs that we'd otherwise have to endure.

We've talked quite a bit about how we get lost in chasing everything we want in life, and honestly, that's one of our biggest problems. It's one of the biggest causes of many of the ups and downs that we face in life. It ends up leaving us feeling like we're bouncing back and forth, up and down, completely lost in this completely chaotic existence with very little semblance of normalcy and peace.

But much of that bouncing we tend to feel comes from being so adamant to do things our way and chase after all the things we want in life. We pour everything we have into getting something we want and then something bad happens: We get it. We get what we want. We get what we'd spent so much time and energy trying to obtain. But then what happens almost instantly every single time? The new wears off and we're left right back where we were, looking for something to fulfill this hole inside that we think can be filled with worldly things.

And there's our problem. All this chasing after worldly idols, material comfort, and self-centered priorities will always leave us empty in the end. We get something and then in no time at all we've forgotten about it. Its importance and value fades faster than the morning fog. That's because all this worldly junk only has value and importance because other people say it does, and we fall for it. We live our lives according to what other people say is important, and in doing so we blindly fall into line following the rest of our society toward a goal with no purpose.

But what if we were to do as this verse says and submit to God instead? What if we focused more on doing what He put us here to do rather than what someone else has decided is important? What if we stopped bouncing from worldly goal to selfish desire and set our sights instead on the path that He has laid out for us? Maybe we'd find that peace, that fulfillment, that chance to avoid some of the disappointments that come with getting what we want only to find that it's nothing we need.

Friends, life doesn't have to be filled with as many ups and downs and disappointments as it often seems to be. Now we can't avoid those things that are just beyond our control. But we can choose what we focus on, what we prioritize, what we set our hearts on while we're here. We can choose to let go of this worldly sense of needing things to make us happy and realize that true joy and peace are only found outside this place. They're only found in Christ. No more bouncing. No more back and forth, up and down, ebb and flow, excitement and disappointment.

If we would only submit our lives to Him and trust in His plans rather than whatever happens to catch our eye, then maybe we'd finally be able to see that He truly knows what's best and that He will lead us where we have wanted to be all along. He will lead us to peace. To joy. To that sense of fulfillment that we've long thought existed only in having everything we want. We don't have to zig-zag our way through life trying to find something meaningful. As this verse tells us, He will lead us along a straight path right to where we want to be.

So we can do things the way we’ve always done them and keep bouncing from empty promise to shattered dream. We can keep chasing things that only end up gathering dust and thrown in the trash. Or we can lose the hassle of trying to find something that will last in a place that won’t. We can turn back to our Father and let Him lead us to what truly matters. Something that will last for all eternity!

#LeaveNoSoulUntold