Simplicity

In moments, life can seem like a tangled and complicated arrangement of situations, challenges, and exhaustion. We're reminded as we seek to walk in the Spirit of God that His insurmountable power and will is bigger than the overwhelming feelings we often encounter. As we seek to reconcile the faithfulness of God with the challenges of life, it seems as if we entangle ourselves in arduous attempts at understanding this life we are living.
But if there's one thing God has been gradually revealing to me in recent times, it's that His will and His plans are far less complicated than my finite mind tries to make them. This morning, I came across a quote, printed on a page of my prayer journal:

"Let this be thy whole endeavor, this thy prayer, this thy desire -- that thou mayest be stripped of all selfishness, and with entire simplicity follow Jesus only." -Thomas á Kempis

There's the clarity, the simplicity, of what our lives are about. Following Jesus. It's such a basic and obvious explanation that most of us know and could say, but do we actually comprehend that our daily callings are just to surrender our selfish hearts to Jesus Christ and desire to follow Him alone.

He's faithful. He's gracious. He is a good God. He knows the short-sightedness of our human hearts, our tendency to become overwhelmed, and our fleeting minds that become entangled with the daily cares of life. So He fills His Word with the simple commandment and admonition to follow Him.

 "Abide in me, and I in you." John 15:4

I love big words, thick books, and learning new things. So often I'm tempted to over-anaylze God's Word and become confused and overwhelmed with how to live to please Him. But He's made it so simple: wake up every morning with a willing and surrendered heart, asking how to bring Him praise that day. If there's one thing God has brought back to my mind over and over, it's the simple words from the 10,000 Reasons "Bless the Lord, O My Soul" song:

 

Jesus, refresh my heart with the simplicity of following you every day.