Got My Butt Kicked

It's crazy how quickly one can get off track. Satan knows just what to do to distract you. Don't think he takes a break or sleeps or even blinks when it comes to attacking you. You give him one little opportunity to injure you and he is going to take it.

Saturday night I worked til midnight, and didn't get to bed until almost 2am. I woke up at 9 the next morning and had to teach the pre-k sunday school class. For whatever reason, that class absolutely wiped me out...I was so tired afterwards. For lunch I went to Blue Cow for the wifi and instead of doing my time with God then like I had originally planned, I watched School of Rock instead. Bad idea.

That night I went to my friend's family Christmas party, which was a blast I blend in with his Mexican family very well (lol). However, I knew that I was in completely the wrong state of mind. I was in that "gotta hook up with someone" kinda mood and was fighting it all night. It didn't help that my friend had a very cute, very drunk cousin who would have been a very willing participant. The night ended well, I didn't conquer my own brain but did succeed in not following through on anything.

But when God woke me up this morning, before my alarm goes off at 6am, I simply rolled over. I didn't want to get up and spend time with Him. I wanted to sleep. Which of course meant that I slept too long and was almost late to work. Not only that, even though technically I got plenty of sleep last night, I do not feel refreshed today. This morning I was dragging for a good 4 or 5 hours before I finally started to feel like I was in at least 3rd gear.

This is not a casual stroll through the park that God has called me to. This is serious. This is for real. I can't take a day off from spending time with God. I can't get "too busy" or be "too tired". It can't happen. Because Satan will walk all over me if I give him the opportunity.

Yesterday at the party, I had an awesome opportunity to invite some people to my church...which would have changed their lives simply because I think my church is just that awesome...but because I wasn't prayed up, I think I didn't hear God's promptings and missed it. This morning, everyone was dragging...if I had woken up and gotten my gears rolling, I could have made a huge impact on the people I work with, and it would have made a difference in my service to my tables.

Lately God's really been breaking down on my ideas of helping people. You know, it's not my experiences that make my faith real. Just because God has always taken care of me and I have experienced some miracles doesn't mean I have genuine faith. My faith has to come from God's truth for it to be real.

My experience is not what makes redemption real - redemption is reality.

Never support an experience that does not have God as its Source and faith in God as its result.

Is JEsus Christ Lord of your experiences, or do you place your experiences above Him?

"I do not care what I experience - I am sure of Him!"

Faith based on experience is not faith; faith based on God's revealed truth is the only faith there is.

- Oswald Chambers

God never ceases to kick me in the butt with Oswald Chambers...thank goodness.