by Maddie Watson | Oct 16, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 5:15-23
Stop for a moment, and think of the most wonderful and wished for gift that you ever received as a child, the gift that you waited and waited and begged and begged for. Remember that gift that you persistently petitioned your parents for, on top of writing a letter or two to Santa Claus. Maybe you even prayed for it! Now, remember the excitement that you felt when you finally received the gift, the thrill of unwrapping the red and green wrapping paper on a crisp Christmas morning, or the joy of tearing into the gift at a birthday celebration. Everything that you had been hoping for was finally in your hands, all was right in the world. You treasured this gift with all your heart, until… Weeks turn into months, and months to years; the gift became a little bit less thrilling, and seemingly less important. Eventually, this once so precious present that you so longed for ended up under the bed, cast to the side, just like all of the other toys, and you went on to wishing for the next thing.
All too often, this is how people of this day in age behave toward their spouse after a few months or years of marriage. We wait our entire lives to find “the one,” and when we finally find that “one” we are overjoyed – everything is perfect! Completely enthralled, completely in love, the newlyweds enjoy each moment they have with each other in complete adoration. A few months pass, then a few years, and the newness begins to wear off. Things aren’t as bright and shiny as they were in the beginning; the couple feel less satisfied. That “gift” that they prayed for tirelessly feels a little bit less special. It’s just so routine.
But hear me clearly:
Your spouse is NOT a TOY. You can’t just cast him or her aside when things aren’t as perfect as they once seemed. Your spouse is a human being who was chosen by the God of the universe. Our world today has fallen far too deeply into the trench of casting the gift of marriage aside when things get hard.
What a horrible way to treat a gift given by the God who created you.
In light of comparing the great gift of marriage to material gifts; a spouse should be treated more like a classic, vintage, extremely valuable automobile. Perhaps that auto has been passed down from generation to generation in your family, making it even more valuable. You spend hours and hours gently and carefully tending to this car; polishing, washing, cleaning, restoring, fueling, etc. Now, I am not a car expert, but I do know that a car that is neglected and left out through different seasons of weather and storms without being driven or cared for will eventually rust and stop running. I can safely assume that no one who is passionate about a treasured family entity would leave it untouched and uncared for because it is entirely irreplaceable.
In the same way that one would tirelessly slave to repair or maintain a classic car, a spouse should strive to maintain the marriage relationship. So we must tirelessly strive to care for our marriage and spouse, because marriage is a special gift from God – not a toy. Enjoy that one that the Lord has chosen specifically for you. Don’t even think about finding satisfaction in anyone or anywhere else.
And if the Lord has not blessed you with this beautiful gift quite yet…
keep on waiting…
by Maddie Watson | Oct 3, 2015 | Proverbs
Proverbs 1:20-33
When you drive down the road, there are signs in place that direct traffic which must be obeyed in order for traffic to flow smoothly. The big red sign, with eight sides, says, “STOP”… So what do you think that means? … STOP! The black sign with a white arrow says “one way” which keeps us from turning into the wrong direction of traffic. All of these signs are there for our safety. There meanings are clear and concise, keeping everything running smoothly. Then there is the traffic director, who sees on coming traffic and knows different road conditions and situations that we cannot see from where we are on the road, but we trust him to guide us safely to where we need to be. But what would happen if we, for whatever reason, decided that our way of driving was better, and that we wanted to do it our own way without seeking counsel from the signs and ignoring the traffic director. It would most likely end up in mass chaos… a train wreck.
In life, we also have the Traffic Director and signs in place for our safety. He knows the road conditions ahead, and is directing us as well as protecting us from harm. However, we often ignore those “street signs” of wisdom from the Lord because we think that our way is better. All the while, the signs are practically screaming: “No! Slow down! Don’t turn there!” with our best interest in mind. The signs – being insight from the Lord and conviction of the Holy Spirit, are there for a reason.
The “wisdom” spoken of in Proverbs 1:20-33 is like the street signs. When we choose to do our own thing we are considered simpleminded and foolish. We listen to actual street signs because we fear getting into a car accident. In the same way, we should adhere to the wisdom of God because we fear Him. Proverbs 1:23 says, “Come and listen to my counsel. I’ll share my heart with you and make you wise.”
The traffic director does not stand in the street and make us guess where we are supposed to go. We receive his direction simply by coming to him. Obeying the Father is so much better than making our own rules and plans.
“… all who listen to me will live in peace, untroubled by fear of harms.”
-Proverbs 1:33
Will you obey the street signs?
Photography: @arikiam
by Maddie Watson | Sep 21, 2015 | James
James 4:4-6
From the very beginning of time, God has wanted more for His people. There was no glitch in the system that the Lord originally created. In six days, He created exactly what He intended, exactly what we needed, lacking absolutely nothing. When He created man, He knew it was “not good for man to be alone” (Genesis 2:18) so he blessed Adam with Eve, who was perfectly suit able for him. God did not have to do that, He chose to. He gave Adam and Eve everything they could have ever wanted or needed in addition to perfect unity and friendship with God. They would even walk and enjoy the cool breeze in the Garden with Him.
God gave Adam and Eve one rule, “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it, you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:16-17).
The tree was God’s way of giving Adam and Eve a choice. Without this choice, they would have been like robots, but God did not want robots, He wanted free creatures that CHOSE to obey Him because they trusted that He knew what was best for them.
But then, along came the serpent. The sly, charming, and seemingly friendly serpent twisted the choice into a pride game as he offered his friendship and the fruit to Eve. He implied, “You won’t really die… God just doesn’t want you to see how much better life is on this side of the garden.” He lifted up the forbidden fruit and as soon as Eve’s teeth sank into it, she became a friend of the world- an enemy of God. Adam quickly followed. This choice to disobey, this choice of “my way is better” separated Adam and Eve from God. But He still chose to give them grace by clothing them with the fine wool when they were confronted with shame and nakedness. He showered them with grace, though they were so underserving.
Each moment in life today, we have that same choice; to live as God intended in complete obedience because we know His way is better. Or, to befriend the world because in our prideful state, we think we know better.
We serve a gracious, loving, omniscient, powerful, caring God. Shouldn’t that make us believe that His way is better?
The choice is ours.
What will you choose?
Photography: @mattglenn
by Maddie Watson | Sep 11, 2015 | James
James 2: 14-17
Time and time again, I looked into those sad, sorrowful eyes as I drove by on my way to work. I made excuse after excuse, “Oh, I just don’t have (time, cash, food, etc.).” Each day leaving the homeless woman on the corner hungry and empty handed. Something inside me kept urging me to plan ahead so that I could stop and give her something, but I silenced that voice with excuses. The voice of the Holy Spirit continued to urge me to stop and help the woman, each time it got easier to make an excuse, and each time my heart became more distant from the Lord. I decided that I would just pray for the woman when I saw her, and that would be good enough, right?
Wrong. There was a reason that I continued to feel convicted after driving away from the woman each time. Yet I kept on choosing to walk in myown selfish ways. Finally, one day the Holy Spirit captivated my mind and heart once more and closed the distance between us through the lesson offered from James 2:14-17. If I truly love God, acts of service- like sacrificing time, cash, food, etc. should come out of an overflow of my heart. What good would simply praying for the woman on the corner do when the Lord has blessed me and given me opportunity to be an enabler and provider for that sister in Christ. That would be equivalent to holding an umbrella outside during a rainstorm and praying for the umbrella to open as rain pelted down on you, instead of using the capability you have been given to open the umbrella yourself. Our love for the Lord is to overflow from our lives into the lives of others through our actions. Without that overflow, are we truly walking in faith at all? The choice is ours. Will you open the umbrella?
Photography: shelbseab
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