Life is full of opportunity and challenges—more than any of us can really deal with on our own. Throughout the years, I have noticed:

1. I can never get it all done.
2. I never have time for what is important.
3. I need some absolute cornerstone truths to hold me steady.

There are theological arguments and experiences that will support anything I want to believe. But, they will not help me grow.

God does supernaturally reveal himself to us and we can have an intellectual understanding of him. Neither you nor I are the best guides of what we need. Left alone, we find ways to satisfy ourselves and avoid anyone and anything that keeps us from it. We need an Absolute God and people to work that relational life out with, no matter how difficult or broken that process can be.

Let’s visit my list.

1. I can never get it all done by myself. I have to stop doing what I feel has to be done, in order to decide the essentials—the things that truly determine what kind of life I have.At the top of my list are daily prayer, reading the Bible and weekly times of fellowship and worship with others. Without that, we end up damaging ourselves and those around us, instead of being redeemed and restored, and used as an agent of God’s redemption and restoration to others. This is the path to joy, satisfaction and happiness.

2. I never have time for what is important. My own need for satisfaction and approval keeps me from what really is important. We work to avoid pain and conflict. There’s the fear that if I stop long enough, I might have to face the fact I need God and others. I lose control. This effort of avoidance keeps me in a cycle of not enough time.

3. I need absolute cornerstone truths to hold me steady. Sure we can’t be sure that everything we believe is true, there will always be doubt in faith. This can’t hold us back. We have to dive into the process and grow in understanding and faith in the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. A community of people helps me avoid settling for what is comfortable by challenging me to trust and release control.

We are selfish and self-absorbed. We are not beyond pursuing our own wants or avoiding pain. The answers are not that easy. Solving the problem of our rebellion, our relationship with God and others is not a path of easy self-satisfaction. It is a long-term challenge of relationship worked out between men and women in marriages, friendships, families, imperfect churches and even governing nations. It’s done to reveal God and join him in presenting hope to a decaying world.

I’ll be talking about this subject at Valley Life Church throughout the next several weeks.