The Simple Answer to Escaping the Currents of the World

We are almost halfway through December with all the lights and love and joys of Christmas. But wasn’t it just last week that I was sitting on the sand, in the sun, at the beach on our family vacation? That was 5 months ago, but my head hasn’t caught up to my calendar yet.

Time is just moving too fast and there doesn’t seem to be enough of it.

Because of this, it’s easy to get caught in the currents that run in and out of our lives. The loud squeaky wheel of the world beckons us towards that which is the least resistant: the ways of the natural man. In our busyness and haste (and often times fatigue) to get things done, we might not always respond as we would like.

That happened to me this last week.

My response to a situation instantly made me sad and I had to consciously stop and get my bearings to put things right.

James Allen once wrote: “Circumstance does not make the man; it reveals him to himself.” 

This revealing is essential to our growth and if we face this with humility and courage, we will feel the powers of Heaven helping us as promised.

For me, the answer was in being more intentional. Life might not be getting slower or easier or less busy, but I can be more intentional. I can be deliberate and thoughtful no matter what the currents of the world are doing.

Though they swirl around our feet, we can stand firm in the knowledge that the Lord is always with us and is working to fit us for the Kingdom of God. We can find joy in the knowledge that He has overcome the world and knows perfectly how to help us escape the currents that would take us to places we would rather not go. The more I ponder this, the more I realize how intentional the Lord is with us. Nothing is left to chance, and we are never ignored.

This Christmas season, I will give Him the gift of thoughtful intentions. I will slow down and love more fully. I will listen more closely to conversations so that I may hear the words not said. I will refuse to sink into the current of anger and contention. I will deliberately and consciously be aware of those around me. I will try more earnestly to be like Him.