Shortcuts

Kristine Cucinotta Murphy

Yesterday, I was walking around the parking lot that we have our camper parked in. I’m watching the activity of vehicles coming in and leaving. It is a long parking lot and I notice some chose to cut through it rather than stay in their lane. I started to count How many were taking a shortcut. That’s not too bad I thought maybe 1 out of 30 vehicles, then every vehicle after my thought were cutting through the lot. That is bad. Some proceeded with caution, others raced through without a care. They made the choice to do something and went full force with it without considering their surroundings nor dangers of their decision.

This is the same as life itself. Mine husband always tells me “I’m trying”. And, I am always telling him,” There is no trying, you either do or you don’t.” We all make choices thoughout our day, life and marriage. We have the free will and ability to choose.

In marriage, we choose to be faithful or not, be a doer of the word or not, obey God or not, forgive or not. It saddens me to say the truth of the matter, many of our choices are chosen by being under the pressure of how we feel.

God’s word encourages us that if we live and walk by His Holy Spirit we are not led by our feelings. We are given the ability to obey God to submit to His will and way we are to go. We are given the patience, self control and all the other fruit of the Spirit to endure, suffer through, persevere to stay the course through our feelings rather than take shortcuts based on our feelings.

We get impatient, we hurt, we suffer for so long and then our feelings get amplified with that little devil tapping on our shoulder, whispering our discomfort getting louder and louder telling us “You had enough, there is a shortcut to alleviate and eliminate this and you don’t have to deal with it anymore. ” And, we take the bait.

Why is submission important? Why is pushing through our struggles, displeasures and temptations important to not take a shortcut? It is a simple one word answer, “Protection”.

Though shortcuts sometimes get us there faster, temporarily relieves our impatience or hurtful feelings, it is also dangerous. We are taking a high risk in leaving our covering and protection that ultimately leads to death. And, most importantly it shows our rebellious disobedience to God. Shortcuts don’t exercise and grow our faith. We become hardened in our hearts and our minds severed from being disciplined and making disciples. We start by cautiously and slowly taking a shortcut, seeing nothing bad happened at that time until we no longer have a care and wrecklessly race through life and marriage being disobedient taking more and more shortcuts. Not an example of God’s Spirit and good fruit. A not so humble, nor good and faithful servant.

God’s word tells us in Luke 16:10
He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much.

Yes, something as little as not staying in our lane all the way through a parking lot is an act on our feelings rather than obedience in the Spirit. And, not just a parking lot, but all the many choices we must make throughout our day, life and marriage to follow all the way through, no matter how it feels or how long it will take. Shortcuts are an obedience killer, a heart hardener and removes our protective cover; a falling away.

Today, I challenge us all to pay closer attention to being faithful with little. That we notice, every decision that comes to us to be made to make on purpose to live in obedience. Submit all our thoughts to the obedience and mind of Christ, to truly bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Even if we make the decision to be disobedient, to take responsibility and ownership of our choice without placing blame or making excuses why we choose to disobey. Rather take our disobedience to God, who is truth and knows the truth to speak the truth of our disobedience to Him to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.

It’s always a choice, there is no trying, we do or we don’t. We may be tempted, tried, pushed and pressed to give up and be disobedient for sometime before we actually rebel and fall under the pressure. That is not trying, that is being tried, we are still faced to make a decision to obey by the Spirit or not obey by our own feelings and suffering.

Hebrews 12:4
Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.

God’s way may seem to take forever to follow all the way, through but it is the sure way. Let us faint not, lose not hope and never weary by faith. There is not only light at the end of the tunnel, we are the light in the tunnel, shine, shine, shine. Even, if we must walk through the wilderness for 40years. God keeps his promise. Trust and obey.

Matthew 7:13-14
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:

14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.