Say No To Gridlock, Say Yes To God

September 5, 2004 | Link To Us | Index | This sermon is for your spiritual edification and to spread a little hope and cheer. Hebrews 4:7

We live in a time when people commute great distances to go to work. Sometimes as much as two hours or more. Not because they want to, but because housing prices are lower the farther they are from the cities they work in.

One thing to be thankful for in this case is that we are not living where covered wagons and horses would make such a commute in maybe a week or more. That is no consolation when a sig alert comes along and you are stuck for who knows how long and you are jammed in like a large herd of cattle wandering aimlessly for greener pastures. Although our greener pastures may never be realized, because of our lack of desire to change, or from fear, we can look to God for help and for guidance to lessen the storms we invent for ourselves at the cost of our own sanity.

But yet people drive this insanity because they think there is no other way. Now a lot of people might say that there is no other way. But yet if they really think about it and put aside time to seek the moments in time when they can pray to God and seek His guidance through the storms of life, they may be able to see a light at the end of the tunnel.

But sometimes that light seems to get farther away the closer we think we are getting to it. That may be a contradiction in terms, but I think that a lot of people feel this way about life. They may feel that there is no way out of their present predicament so they trudge on eking out as much happiness that they can regardless of the cost.

But what is the cost to us if we do not follow Gods loving ways as put forth in the Bible? What piece of ourselves are we willing to give up to have a bigger piece of the pie in life? The answer lies, not in how much money we make, but on how much time we are willing to put aside to increase our relationship with God.

We could just let our lives be left to chance, like playing the lottery every week and hope by some small chance we win. But then many a dream is squelched by just kicking back and leaving life to mere chance.

The thing about a relationship with God is that what we put into it comes back even more than we gave. Now how many investments in time and money can you say that about?

Now, a lot of people tend to put off a relationship with God because they can't see Him. It's like purchasing a product on-line, people want to be able to hold it in their hand so they can prove it is what they think it is, which they can't do on-line. But you can't hold a relationship with God in your hand. You can feel it in your heart, but a lot of people expect more material advantage to their endeavors, never really looking at the possible end result to a life void of God's love.

This is sad. In the Bible we read one phrase used frequently (although different Bible's word it differently), "He will harden their hearts." I think people harden their own hearts without really realizing it as they get farther from God and all the blessings He can bestow on them. You can't see a blessing ahead of time.

It's not like saving for a car. You can see the material item and you can visualize it in various fashions. But a relationship with God is harder to see. I sometimes wonder if this is what God meant by hardening their hearts. They actually harden their own hearts because of their failure to believe. To believe in an inanimate object is ludicrous to some. You don't believe a car exists, because you can see it and feel it. So it is harder for someone to believe in God because they can't literally hold His hand or look Him in the eyes. But yet He is there.

So the challenge here is to look deep inside of yourself and really decide to think about how others lives have changed because of a belief in God. So even though you can not see God, you can see the changes in others lives as they grow closer to God. Then you can see and better understand how important a lasting relationship with God is and that it is more rewarding than any other material thing, feeling, or comfort.

Prayer: Dear Lord, I often go astray as I let the pressures and gridlock get me down. The modernisms of life can help me forget you when I really need you. My shortsightedness is often my undoing never realizing that the true light at the end of the rainbow is Your love. Help me in the coming week to try to find the light in others that show forth your love, so I can be better able to understand the true value of a lasting relationship with You, Lord. Thank you Lord, for all your many blessings. Amen.

Benediction: Now, Lord, Bless us in our daily lives. Help us to smell the roses whenever possible, to shine our light on those less fortunate than us, and lead us in the path we should go. For you are the light that keeps our path well lit. Help us to follow it, until we meet you, in a land where milk and honey abound, a place where our most wonderful dreams are fulfilled. Amen.

Hi, my name is Bryan, a messenger of hope who would love to hear from you. God Bless.

© 2004 Bryan Hill