Bubbles! This morning I sat outside watching all five of my children happily play with bubbles. Smiles. Laughter. Blowing bubbles at each other. Running around in circles. Comparing the sizes of bubbles.  Popping. Blowing. Repeat.

So much fun! For about 15 minutes… Then someone bumped into someone else. Bubbles spilled. Others ran out. Soon we were left with empty containers. The fun was over… well for the four oldest. (The baby sat and played with empty containers pretending to blow bubbles having just as much fun as before.)

As fun as the bubbles are, they are only temporary. Eventually we will run out of bubbles. Someone will spill their bubbles. It will happen. The other kids will offer to share, but eventually the bubble solution will be gone and an empty container will be in the trash can.

This is so much like life’s worldly promises. Money, status, power, promotions, good grades, popularity, possessions… All of it will run out. We entered the world naked and naked we will leave it.

But the world offers us so many temporary solutions. It’s hard to overlook them. Temporary fun. Temporary satisfaction. Temporary distractions. But it will run out. It will leave us empty. Just like those bubbles. Eventually the bottle will be empty, and the fun will be over.

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Fact- I am emotional. I know I am sensitive emotionally, so I try not to react with emotions. (By the grace of God, progress has been made here… but I still struggle.) This means that I tend to stuff my emotions down, reflect, and decided whether or not to react. Usually, I choose not to react, because I am also a peace maker. I do not like conflict. I avoid it at all cost… sometimes that means at the cost of my own emotional well-being.

Another fact- I am pregnant. Being pregnant means my emotions are heightened, and I am overly  sensitive. I easily feel offended, hurt, saddened, misunderstood.

So lately I have found that in order to deal with these emotions I have turned to a worldly satisfaction of food… Yep… I feel annoyed= I need chocolate. I feel frustrated= I need something crunchy. I feel bored= I need something salty. I feel sad= I want ice cream.

These foods do offer a temporary solution. Well… until the candy bar runs out or until the bottom of the chip bag appears. Almost immediately after eating whatever I choose to eat, I feel poorly and wish I had chosen a healthier food.

The really sad thing is this can be justified by the world, because we live in the world. But the truth is, there is only one thing that can satisfy. When I look to the world to satisfy me, I lose sight of that one thing. That one thing is Jesus! He alone is the living water. He alone is the bread of life. He is the one and only thing that can satisfy.

Though my eyes wonder, and I look elsewhere; He is always there.

You would think by now I would have this right. You would think by now I would know that this candy bar will not actually make me feel better. That this bag of chips will not actually fill me up.

One of the biggest misconceptions I think new Christians have is that it’s all downhill once you accept Christ. That couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s more like a roller-coaster ride with ups and downs and loops and turns. We have an enemy, and he knows how to distract us. He knows how to get us to temporarily take our eyes off God. He knows how to temporarily get us to fall back into our old ways.

But GOOD NEWS! We also have the Holy Spirit on our team. He never leaves us and never forsakes us. He is there convicting us and helping us overcome these stumbling blocks the enemy puts in our path.

The thought that I should have this down now is a thought from the enemy, telling me I am not good enough… telling me that I can do it on my own. Trying to put the focus back on me… and my pride lets him do it too much! I need the Holy Spirit!

Praise God I have somewhere to turn! All I have to do is lift up a prayer. He is there. He listens. He understands.  If only I could ditch this sin nature.

LISTEN CLOSELY! Are you listening? Good. We all have things that we enjoy. ENJOY THEM, BUT do not let them be the source of your comfort or satisfaction. Eventually they will run out, and you will be left empty. The only True Comfort and Satisfaction will be found NOW and FOREVER in JESUS CHRIST!

 

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun; all of them are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.


Ecclesiastes 1:14