Daily Life

As I sit in our big blue recliner next to our side patio, I can look up and enjoy the view of the fluorescent reddish, brown leaves of the towering Oak tree next to our house.  Right now the sun is setting the leaves aglow against the gray branches and the deep blue sky.  When the wind begins to blow, the leaves look like they are waving to each other, and further in the background the tops of two majestic Redwoods stand as sentinels that seem to be beckoning me to go out through the side gate and stand beneath them and soak in the freshness of the new day.

Okay, so I am an outdoors type person!  Most of my most memorable times have occurred outside.  From camping, to daily walks with my bride, and even when I worked outside in the blazing heat or freezing cold in the garden department at The Home Depot in Oklahoma!  To me there is just something special about the great outdoors!  You know… when you think about it, God didn’t tell Adam and Eve that He would meet them for coffee at the local mall!  He spent time with them most afternoons outside in the Garden of Eden.  I bet He likes to hike to the pinnacles of heaven and gaze out into the endless beauty of the universe that He has created for us to enjoy!

For me, summer vacation is not complete unless we go camping!  I know of others that enjoy a fun theme park, or a fancy resort, but for me there is nothing like the fragrance of a hot pot of coffee perking away on an open fire or camp stove in the early morning hours!  The still of the forest, the occasional flutter of wings as a bird flies overhead or the shuffling of tiny feet as a squirrel scurries by your shoes as he hunts down additions for his winter food supply.  Mountain views, lush meadows, streams that are fed by the melting snows from the peaks surrounding you, ah… just sort of sends me off to the mystical land of Nirvana!

I think that this is all part of the abundant life that our heavenly Father wants us to live.  Each of us has our favorite places that we like to enjoy.  Places that rejuvenate us, places that bring healing to our stressed out lives, and peace to our sometimes fragile emotions.  What or where are your favorite places to go?  If Jesus stood before you today and said “I have come that you might have life and have it more abundantly”  (John 10:10 ESV-personalized), where would you like to experience that abundance of life?  Remember that the abundant life that He talks about in this verse is the “Zoe” life.  That is a life that is vibrant and animate.  What makes you feel vibrant and animate?  Is it the way you feel the majority of the time each day?

Well, vacations are special because we normally go to our favorite places with the goal of relaxation, rejuvenation and pleasure in mind!  But what about the rest of the year?  Is it possible to live the abundant life in the middle of your normal daily routine?  At home with the family, at school, at work, in the supermarket, or on the crowed highway?

I fail to see where Jesus made any distinction between our daily lives and our vacation times.  I believe that He means for us to live and enjoy the abundance of life wherever we are, and in the midst of whatever we are experiencing be it pleasant or not!  I believe that a couple of keys to this lifestyle are found in the book of James chapter four.  Verse seven in the Contemporary English Version tells us to “Surrender to God!  Resist the devil and he will run from you.”  Then the very next verse clinches it with the recommended action needed in order to achieve success saying “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” (James 4:8 NKJV).  Both of these exhortations go hand in hand with the second message that the Apostle Peter gave in the book of Acts where he proclaimed that: “times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord.” (Acts 3:19 KJV)

So what will it be for you today?  Living like just about everyone else and existing only for the thought of the upcoming weekend, or for your 2 week summer vacation?  Or will you surrender to Him and let Him make every day be an important part of the abundant life that Jesus has for us?  Have a great week.  Stay in tune to His Word, and keep asking yourself… “What GOOD THINGS am I expecting today?”