Moment by Moment
How did I get here? You know that moment in a movie or TV show where a character ends up some place terrible, some place they never wanted to? Maybe it is some moral dilemma, maybe it is the characters life seemingly falling apart, or some other catastrophe, and it is met with these five simple words….how did I get here? Apart from the nuances and characterizations of cinema and Hollywood, the truth is that this very same set of circumstances seems to happen to many in our world. That is to say that we find ourselves at times in a place or set of circumstances we never intended to be, bearing the weight of some consequences and asking the same question, how did I get here? There is rarely one simple answer to such a question as often times, much like our favorite shows and movies, the path which led to our current state is riddled with choices and decisions that were made one after another without thought to their outcome or an understanding of their weight. So let us take a moment today, and try to better understand how in biblical terms we end up in the places where we ought not to be.
Let us start by identifying an issue that seems prevalent in modern day American church culture. Our culture, it seems, promotes the self, independence, doers, achievers, conquerors as it were. This mindset has seemingly weaseled its way into our church cultures to promote itself as “healthy independence” or some other form of accepted belief. The problem with this belief is that it efficiently performs two deadly tasks in one foul swoop. A.) It promotes the idea of “me” instead of the idea of God. Anytime we consider what scripture might lead us to understand and accept, we will assuredly begin from a place of submission to God, not from a place of “what I want”. B.) This mindset misses an essential truth that is necessary in the life of a Christian: our goal as Christians is to become more dependent on God, not independent from Him (Paul Tripp describes this truth often in his writings). One does not need to look far to find a beautiful example of God’s leadership and his provision in our lives, take for example the oft quoted Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me besides stil lwaters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Psalm 23 describes a relationship with God that is built on trust, one in which He leads and we follow. It describes God’s authority and provision over us and for us, His protection and goodness that stem from trust in Him, and a path we can follow that never leads to the question, “how did I get here?” There is no sense of independence in Psalm 23, no presence of lostness or confusion, the Shepherd leads with guidance and wisdom, and the sheep follows. If this description is one which grants us direction or guidance into how might live our lives, then the question becomes, where do we deviate or go astray that might lead to the question, “how did I get here?”
The problem, it would appear, is actually within us, not outside of us. We might look to our circumstances as a blame for the problems we face, or perhaps we blame other people for where we have found ourselves. The truth of the matter is that we need look no further then the beating heart within us as the beginning point, the cause, the area of concern and the point of divergence that leads us down paths we regret choosing. Consider 1 Corinthians 10:31, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Let us ask one simple question of our own hearts, “Have I approached each day with the attitude that everything I do is to be done for God’s glory and not my own?” What about each hour of each day? What about each moment of each day? The human heart is a fickle thing, like a wave tossed in the ocean, the prophet Jeremiah laments, “the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it?” That sick heart within us, which strives for independence and chooses itself first, is the answer to the question, “how did I get here?”
If everything we do is designed to be done to glorify and honor God, then we can only draw one certain conclusion here. That every moment of every day I am faced with a choice: to choose to honor myself, or to choose to honor God. I cannot choose both, and every decision I make will ultimately put me on one of those paths. When I choose myself I find a deceptively easy path ahead of me that comes with dire consequences which inevitably land in the “how did I get here” mindset. When I choose to honor God, I find a difficult path initially, one which requires sacrifice, laying aside of my own needs and wants, and placing others above myself. That path, however, breathes life into us and leads to trust, endurance, strengthening and peace. “How did I get here?” The answer is actually surprising simple, I chose myself. May we instead choose each moment of each day to honor God and love Him more than we love ourselves.
