My son and I were talking one day after watching the news broadcast. We all know that talking philosophically after watching the news is not necessarily a good idea. He said that the world was a messed up place to live. That’s a scary thought.

During biblical times, things were just as scary as they are in the current times. All around those who worshipped God were people who didn’t care one iota about the Lord of the Universe. Despite their criminal and immoral behavior, they seemed to get ahead and prosper in their wrongdoing.

Not much seems to have changed to the eye of the casual observer, like my son that day we were watching the news. People are losing jobs while CEOs flee the building with their finances intact. Insurance companies deny claims that could speak a death sentence over the lives of sick people everywhere. Thieves break in and steal what someone else has worked hard to earn.

In a word, the world is unbalanced. All of the situations I used as examples above are not a matter of right and wrong but a matter of an ill conscience. Those who know the Word of God know that the world has been out of balance for some time. So, what is the answer?

For my son, myself and others, the answer lies not around us but above us. Looking to God will keep us from concentrating on the situations around us. Looking up before we look around, gives us a perspective that we can’t gain any other way.

In this world, there are so many things that draw our attention. If you have children, then you know how unpleasant this fact can be. Everyone wants a piece of us. Television commercials want your money. Employers want your time. Dishonest people want your money or your time or even your heart and soul.

The one question I ask God sometimes is how people can live in this world without Him. How did I do it for so long? I can tell you that it wasn’t pleasant or peaceful. Being at the mercy of the world is not where God meant for any of His children to end up.

In this life, we all come to the end of ourselves at one time or another. It is a “crossroads moment.” You might be making a choice between taking another job and leaving a crumbling marriage; but the real decision is an eternal one. Without God in the equation, the results are only temporal and may not be the correct decision.

Serving God begins with asking Him to take over your life. This doesn’t mean that He will lead you around by the nose. You are not following the whims of the world but the Word of the God who created you for a purpose. When God tells you to do something, you know that He has your best interests at heart without ulterior motives.

It’s not easy. Your flesh will fight you every step of the way. You’ll attribute human traits to God. If my father will hurt me, so will God. We all think that way. We seek the approval of others on their terms and expect God to treat us the same way. It is only through giving Him a chance to show us His love that we begin to learn that the ways of Man are not the ways of God.

The interesting thing is that God doesn’t have to show us anything. He is God. He doesn’t have to compete for your affection. He made you.

But, He can’t stand to see the devil leading us into a trap on a daily basis. His heart yearns to save each and every person on this planet. But, God deals in the truth, through love. He knows that everyone won’t decide to serve Him. It breaks His heart.

I have been on both sides of the spiritual fence, as have all who profess Christ. We remember what it was like to live as a slave to sin and how we went from one thing to another in search of peace, love, acceptance and a purpose. Human beings have a great capacity for cruelty as well as kindness. We will totally destroy someone’s character to make ourselves look better.

With God, that is not necessary. It’s like the teacher who gives all of her students an A at the beginning of the semester and challenges them to keep it. We get what we don’t deserve from God. He forgives us of all of our sins and helps us to become more like Him. It is tough love because, we feel so unworthy that sometimes we return to sinning so we can hide from the glaring light of His love.

Another thing about serving God: You can’t earn His love or His blessings. You have to learn to just accept them. That’s a foreign concept to us too. Nothing on this earth is every free. But, then again, God doesn’t reside here. The part of Him that does is within us.

Are you willing to give God a try and serve Him only? If you slip up, He will forgive you and help you to start again. It will be hard to believe that someone loves you and wants nothing more from you than your obedience in exchange for an eternity of blessings. Most of what gets in our way is our own distorted beliefs about God anyway.

He is not man so He does not fail and cannot lie. You will still face problems in this world but you will now have a captain who can navigate the waters of this life for you and with you. Best of all, others will see His work in you and want what you have. There is no greater testament of a life than one that brings others to the knowledge of Christ.

Garnet Miller
		About the author:
		Garnet Miller is a part-time freelance writer. She has been published in three FaithWriters anthologies, Associated Content, a coffee table book entitled “Letters to My Mother” and a soon to be released anthology entitled, “Delivered” as well as a Christian newspaper. She is managing editor and writes two columns for Extreme Women magazine. Her main focus is ghostwriting. She is a married mother of two teenage boys living in North Carolina.