Power Out?

(Ecclesiastes 4:6) “Better one handful with tranquility than two handfuls with toil and chasing after the wind.”

There is a basic principle in this world that if you want something different than what you are getting you 

need to do some things that you have never done before.

Everyone around you will tell you, “I’m busy” “I’m tired”.  It is the exception to say “I’m free”.  It is the exception to hear a person say “yeah I got a ton of rest…I am full of energy”

As one of my mentors says…“Broke is the new normal” (Dave Ramsey).  It’s so true, we live in a normal world of 

-having no time to enjoy life

-having no money to bless others

-having no patience to accept change

We are wired and tired and that is normal!  It makes me wonder if this NORMAL life is really worth serving?  If we are honest it really robs us of very special things!

There is a funny thing that happens in my house from time to time.  The electricity goes out.  Now usually it’s because of a storm, but here lately there have been very random outages that have occurred.  Now this is normal in other countries, but here in America if we come home to see a digital clock blinking we are alarmed.  “What happened?  The power must have went out..ohhhh no!”

But as long as it’s back on we brush it off, no biggie!  But when it goes out, for hours or days I have noticed how much my life changes.  It’s not just a little change, it’s a big change.  We don’t open the fridge as often, just to check.  TV’s become black screens of demise instead of shimmering colors of light, no fun to stare at for sure.  Board games get pulled out and we talk more.  I noticed we go to bed at a decent time and wake up naturally.  We pray more!  We read more!  We interact more with each other.  90% of what consumes are days is instantly removed from the realm of possibility.  It’s actually quite amazing to see what happens when the power goes out for a day.

Again it makes me wonder about my 21^st century life.  It makes me wonder who I am actually serving?  Jesus told us a fact in Matthew…“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money. (Matthew 6:24)

Now He contrasts two big life consumers…God or Money because when it comes down to it they are often the top contenders for a person’s soul.  But even if you are not wrestling with the 1^st round draft picks the principle still is true, you only have room for ONE master.  So who will it be?  Best way to tell is to examine how you live your life.  Always full or always with room, one handful or two handfuls?  Which one is it?  Which one do you want?  Time to start making some changes!

1. What is your schedule like?  Is it always full or always empty?  What is a good balance?
2. Why are we so full today, living with two full hands where ever we go?  What causes this kinda of living?
3. What masters your life?  Is it God, or money, or acceptance, or negative self-talk?  What other masters are out there?
4. In the message Pastor Paul talked about the need to cut back, throw out, and turn off.  What of the three needs to be done in your life the most in order to accomplish one handful living?
5. Focusing on remembering what does matter, removing what does not matter and planning margin in all you do will produce less stress and a more Godly lifestyle.  Ask a life group member to pray with you about accomplishing this.