One Needful Thing

Have the enemies of Despair, Discouragement, and Hopelessness been on your trail? At times it seems they sniff you out and hunt you down no matter how hard you try to stay away from them. No matter what you do they are right behind you threatening to steal all joy and purpose out of your life. I remember a time recently when these foes were on my trail for weeks, months even, if I'm honest with myself. I thought I could outrun them, or at the very least pave my own way to a peaceful corner so that I could smile contentedly as I watched them pass me by; their pursuit in vain. Now I realize that I can't outrun them. I am not strong enough - I never was and I never will be. They will seek me and claim my future as their prize, and I will be stuck in the moment of now without hope. I will be stuck in today and have no good thoughts or feelings for tomorrow. But my failure and lack of strength are not what break me, and that's not what breaks you! In fact, my weakness...

Unworthy. This word usually denotes something negative. If you've ever been rejected by someone you have most likely had feelings of worthlessness that may have been followed closely behind by anger, frustration, and even defeat. Or maybe you've felt you were unworthy of something because you look at your lack and know you will never be able to measure up to what you expect of yourself or think others expect of you. Or there is a past mistake that haunts you around every turn of life and you wonder if it will ever stop defining and defeating you. It is so much a part of you it's hard to let it go. But there's a flip side to this word. A side that, when brought to light, can be humbling yes, but also a rare form of worship that when expressed is a sweet fragrance to our Heavenly Father! How can this be, you may ask. How does this work? I look at the life of John the Baptist and see a man who could have been very proud and self-righteous, but chose not to be. His c...