I’m sure it has happened to you, probably lots of times. You are looking all over for something, just to discover that it is already with you, right where you would expect it to be.
Friday morning, my husband left for work and returned within a few moments, looking for his car keys. As I was coming to help him find them, he realized they were in his pocket! And less than an hour later, as we were getting ready to leave for school, Jack was looking for his shoes. Want to guess where he found them? On his feet!! Yes, it happens to me too, and it is always kind of comical.
What causes these lost/not lost experiences? As I have thought about it for the last few days, I think the issues are two: distraction and familiarity.
Distracted. Usually when you can’t find something common like keys or glasses or cell phone, it is at a time when you are in a hurry. Often there is a lot going on in your mind – making sure you have everything you need before you leave, thinking ahead to the next destinations and responsibilities, sometimes worrying about something that is not even part of the immediate circumstances. Our brains often don’t work well under this type of stress. The word “frantic” comes to mind. When we realize that we can’t find what we need, and we have to stop and focus and find it.
This happens in our hearts as well. We get revved up and rolling, hurrying, putting out fires, meeting the demands of the day, and all at once we realize we are missing something we need. What happened to that peace I had this morning after my prayer time? Where is that connection to Christ that I need in order to function the way I was created to function?
It would be nice if those inner needs were actually tangible objects that we could see are missing. You can’t drive your car without keys, but you can muddle through your day without peace. We have to remind ourselves throughout the day to stop for a bit and take stock that we have all that we need for living like Jesus. Like the keys, all we need is there, we just have to realize it and use it.
Run back to Psalm 46. Verse 1 tells us that “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” He’s not far away. He is there. We just need to do what verse 10 tells us to do. “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” And the Psalmist reminds us again in verse 11, “The Lord of hosts is with us.”
Remember 2 Peter 1:3. “His divine power has given us everything needed for life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” We have what we need. We must remind ourselves to draw on that supply and allow it to change our days.
Familiar. The reason you miss the fact that your keys are in your pocket or your shoes are on your feet is that you are used to having them there. It’s familiar, and you don’t even notice it. That’s why you can be looking under couch cushions or under beds, and the item of interest can be right where it always is. So obvious that it takes a minute to think to look there.
Unfortunately, sometimes the inner needs mentioned above go unmet because of the same issue. Let me explain.
We read that everything we need for life and godliness is given to us by God’s divine power. One of the biggest transmitters of that divine power, one of the main ways God supplies what we need is through His Word. Unfortunately, sometimes that seems too obvious, too easy, and we go hunting around, looking for something else to meet the need. It’s true. Or we do turn to God’s Word, but what we read is something we’ve read before, so we skim. We want something quick to help us, and we discount the familiar as not being relevant.
Here’s what Moses said about the Word.
“Surely this commandment that I am commanding you today is not too hard for you, nor is it too far away. It is not in heaven, that you should say, ‘Who will go up to heaven for us, and get it for us that we may hear it and observe it?’ Neither is it beyond the sea, that you should say, ‘Who will cross to the other side of the sea for us, and get it for us so that we may hear it and observe it?’
No, the word is very near to you; it is in your mouth and in your heart for you to observe.” Deuteronomy 30: 11-14
In Romans, Paul quoted Moses when he was explaining the right living that comes through faith. Here is what he wrote (from The Message paraphrase):
“So what exactly was Moses saying? The word that saves is right here, as near as the tongue in your mouth, as close as the heart in your chest. It’s the word of faith that welcomes God to go to work and set things right for us.” Romans 10:8-9
What/Who we need is near, accessible, powerful. We must not overlook it/Him!
“From one ancestor he made all nations to inhabit the whole earth, and be allotted the times of their existence and the boundaries of the places where they would live,
So that they would search for God and perhaps grope for him and find him – though indeed he is not far from each one of us.
For in him we live and move and have our being…” Acts 17:26-28
Don’t miss what is right there. Don’t keep on looking for something more exotic or more complicated. God is present. His Word is near. Look no further! You’ve found what you need.
God, I am amazed at Your nearness. I find it hard to fathom that You have provided all that I need to live the way You ask me to live. Help me to slow down and pay attention to my heart. Help me to choose to stay near to You as I go through each day, and nudge me when I get harried and allow my heart to start scurrying. Thank You for Your Word and for its power. Thank You that it is also near, accessible, relevant, life-giving. Please teach me how to live and move and have my being in You.
-Leah
Two Sisters. One Amazing Savior. 