MISSED POTENTIAL

There is no knowledge of God in the land.  Therefore, the land mourns, and everyone who lives in it languishes.  Hosea 4:3

    Anyone who decides to live without God forfeits the joy of living to his fullest potential.  There is a part of him that will mourn, not fully understanding what it is that he has even lost.  He will languish for what he can not even define.

    The Creator who made a million decisions as He put us together, had dreams what we would become if we discovered His love and learned to live with Him.  He knew that we would realize the peak of our design only if we made Him Lord in the process.  To ignore our Creator is to turn our back on our potential.

    There are so many ways to languish when I choose to live without God.

• My marriage suffers.  It will never be more than what I can humanly create.  Tragically, I will miss things that can only be born of heaven.  I will fail to see my husband’s face soften when I say, “God led me to pray for you at 1:00 this morning…”
• My friendships suffer.  Fellowship will be relegated to small talk.  Sadly, we will never know how exhilarating it is to explore a biblical story together and lose track of time.
• My career suffers.  Never fully understanding my true potential, I will choose a life’s work that can only prove partially rewarding.  Because I am a spiritual being, whatever I decide to become must have a large spiritual component for me to be effective and fulfilled.  Allowing Jesus to breathe through my life whether I am a doctor, a clerk, a janitor, or a communicator is the capstone of all life’s experiences.

    Even planet Earth languishes under the stewardship of those alienated from God.  Our carelessness with God’s creation is exacting a great price on our land.  Wildlife, quality of water, and the air we breathe all bear the effects.

    God’s heart aches and His Creation languishes when divine intentions are spurned.  His greatest desire today is for us to know Him intimately.  In the process, we will walk with our hand in His and become all He intended.  “Languishing” will never describe the one who makes His home with Abba Father.

Oh God, You know that I knew ‘languishing’.  I have also known ‘mourning’.  But gratefully, I also know what it is like to come out of my skin because I know the joy of living in You.  Thank you!  Amen