Little World

Do you ever sometimes feel like you are sinking under the weight of life? The weight can be good weight (i.e. spending lots of time with family, friends, and doing the things that you love – the “want tos”), or bad weight (i.e. working way too much, or getting stuck in the rut of “have tos” instead of “want tos"). But in the end, it is still weight, and it pushes down on you. It impacts your physical body, your mind and your spirit.

It seems that lately, a lot of people in my life, including myself, are carrying a lot of weight.
In fact, my weight tends to fluctuate on a daily basis. Regardless of the kind of weight that we are carrying, sometimes we just pack too much into our schedules and don’t spend enough time at home alone, with ourselves and with Jesus. Or with our cuddly fat cats!

I do a daily devotional each morning called Jesus Calling that has really changed my life. I cannot thank enough, the dear friend who got me turned on to this devotional. It really just rocks my world. I would buy one for every person that I know if they would promise to read it and appreciate it. And on one particular day, it did just that – it rocked my little world:

“Though you live in this temporal world, your innermost being is rooted and grounded in eternity. When you start to feel stressed, detach yourself from the disturbances around you. Instead of desperately striving to maintain order and control in your little world, relax and remember that circumstances cannot touch My peace” – Jesus Calling, August 26

People!! We live in a little world!! We really, really do!! Jesus says so. It really hit me on that particular Thursday morning. Our lives, the things that we control and feel that we have power over, are so small; so insignificant, when compared to God’s kingdom. We think that we have it all in line here, and we need to remember that what He has in store for us is so much better than we can imagine, and so much better than what we could ever do for ourselves. He promises us peace in Him, if only we can step back, relax, and receive it.

I did a little Google research on some populations in this world, see below:

Houston, Texas – 2.2 million
The State of Texas – 25 million
The USA – 307 million
The World – 6.7 billion

I will not argue that there are a lot of people in the world. It’s a big world from the perspective of land mass and people. That certainly is not up for debate. But why are we so consumed by petty things as we live out our daily lives here on earth? We get sucked into our comfort zones with our family, friends, co-workers, church family, even within our own state and certainly our own countries. And I believe that this so often causes us to be consumed with all of the wrong things. Why is it so hard for us sometimes to see the bigger picture? Because there certainly is a bigger picture out there! We just need a different perspective. And we need to remember that ultimately, we are not really in control.

Look at the populations above – Houston is the 4th largest city in the country, but that means there are three more cities with larger populations. Texas is one state, within one country with 49 other such states, within this world with hundreds of other such countries, here on earth, which is one of several planets. And it’s a great big world by any standard. If you have not been out in it lately, I encourage you to grab your passport and go. Open your eyes to what the world has to offer and you will be a changed person – forever. I promise.

But no matter how big this world seems, there IS something bigger. In the midst of us worrying and being consumed by things in our little world, God is busy preparing a place for His children, for the believers, in His kingdom. Nothing is bigger or greater than that.

I don’t say any of this as an excuse to quit caring about things of this life. And I don’t think that God intends us to do that either. There are many important elements to what we are doing here today on earth, including living out God’s purpose for our individual lives. But in the midst of living here in our little world, we need to more often remember the Kingdom that is yet to come. And try not to get consumed with the things in life that are weighing us down.

I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?

You put us in charge of your handcrafted world.

- Psalm 8:3-4, 6 (MSG)