Stupid Girl…
The wait is over….yes, another devotion…
Okay, so, you know I’ve traveled these mountains up and down for years and years. On the way up the mountain one day, I was stopped…by a big black bear. Yes, a big black bear. Now, I’ve lived in the mountains for 10 years now and never run into a black bear in the wild. So, what do I do? Yes, you’ve guessed it. I stopped the car…got out…and got my camera phone ready. He was just sitting there in the road, so I couldn’t go anywhere anyways…so why not take a picture. Hey, my school mascot is the black bear..this would be a great photo op to show my students. So, as I am looking for the stupid camera feature on my phone…the bear actually realizes I am there and apparently is not in the mood to be photographed. So up he goes. I flash back to all of those stupid National Geographic specials that tell me to play dead or back away slowly. Yeah, right! That bear was taller and obviously much bigger than me…back away slowly my butt. I ran like a bat out of you know where to my car. He decided to trot his way toward my car too. That’s when I gunned it and drove the crap out of there, barely missing running into him. The whole time I am thinking…yeah…good idea…get out of the car and take a picture of the animal that can rip you to shreds. I think my brain was on vacation that day.
So, what does this have to do with a Bible devotion? Oddly, I think this situation can reflect life sometimes. How many times do we come up and on something that we know is dangerous or stupid to do but jump right on in or out and do it anyways? I am sure God was like, stupid girl, don’t jump out of the car and run toward the vicious animal. Sometimes I think He is up there going stupid girl, don’t go running into that situation when you should know better (face it, everyone should know better than to approach a bear). Stupid girl, why are you going into that party where you know you will be lead into temptation to drink, smoke, or even have sex? You should know better. Stupid girl, why are you gossiping when you know that it’s going to come and bite you back in the butt? You should know better. Stupid girl, why are you kissing that guy when you know he really doesn’t care for you…he just wants your body?! You should know better. Stupid girl, why are you hanging out with those other girls when you know they are just trouble? You should know better. Stupid girl, why are you lying? Even the littlest lie can cause huge trouble. You should know better. Stupid girl, why are you disrespecting your parents or your family or your so-called friends? If you want respect, you have to give it. If you want disrespect, just keep on disrespecting. You should know better. Stupid girl, why are you not reading your Bible, saying your prayers, or spending time with Me? Don’t you know things are easier when we do them together…AND…YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER.
How many times do we do things that we know we shouldn’t do…we have a bad feeling…a gut feeling that says it is wrong? Oh…come on…admit it. We do it all the time. I watch movies I know I shouldn’t watch, listen to music I shouldn’t listen to. I don’t spend enough time with God. I gossip at school with other teachers. All of these things….I KNOW BETTER! Have you ever said anything you regretted later…said something you knew you shouldn’t have said? Yeah, me too. But we do it all the time…sometimes because it is the heat of the moment or sometimes just because you want a little revenge or to hurt somebody. What happens later? Guilt? Or even worse? Maybe they say something that hurts you? Or tell lies about you? Or gossip about you? And the whole time…you are thinking…I knew better…I knew better not to say what I said. So, what’s the solution? How do we actually do the things we know are right? How do we keep our cool in the heat of the moment? How do we resist that temptation? How do we stay in the car no matter how badly we want to get out to take the picture? J
It’s quite easy actually. Magic wand? Yeah, right! I wish. Answer…..Spending time with God. Believe it or not…the more time you spend with Him, the more Godly decisions you can make. You actually listen to that gut feeling…that little angel on your shoulder saying…don’t do it…you should know better! It’s kinda like this. Imagine a sponge. Stick the sponge in some water. It sucks it up and when you wipe the counter…you’re wiping it with water. When you squeeze it….water. It doesn’t take a genius here. Now, imagine sticking the sponge in sweet tea. It sucks it up and when you wipe the counter…sweet tea. Getting the point? Our brain is a sponge. So hang out in all the wrong places with the wrong people and what comes out…the wrong stuff. Hang out with somebody who cusses a lot…and sure enough you end up with a sailor’s mouth. Now, hang out with the right people and the right places…and what comes out…the right stuff. Hang out with smart people…you get smarter just by being around them…it’s a fact! So….hang out with God….and what comes out of you is….drum roll please…………………I’m making the noise as I type……God! Shocker, Isn’t it? And the more God you suck up like that sponge, the better. Every decision you make, big or small, runs through your brain where it says instead of hey, this’ll be fun or everyone else is doing it…would this be a Godly thing? Is this a sin? And all that God you sucked up catches the bad stuff and lets the good decisions on through.
So, let’s review….how do you keep from doing stuff you should know better than to do? Answer, spend time with God. Now, how do I spend time with God? Easy again. Prayer…going to church…coming to youth…reading your Bible. Okay, I admit…all that spending time with God isn’t that easy….but frankly, I would much rather take the time to spend with God then make those I should have known better decisions that will probably come to haunt me later. I would much rather spend time with God and ask him what to do before doing it so maybe I won’t be attacked by a bear…okay, so some of us probably need to ask God for some more commonsense when we spend time with Him. Anyways, take just 10 minutes a day, morning or evening. Read your Bible, pray. Write your prayers down. I have started writing out some of my prayers and I feel so much better once I’ve written them down. Try it today.… Oh, it won’t kill ya….You can tear yourself away from the computer for a while. Thank God for the many things He has blessed you with. Ask for His help in a certain situation. Pray for your friends or family that are not saved. It’s up to you. You’re not being graded.
So, of course, all of this kinda seems like common sense to us but for those of you who doubt my genius…it’s in the Bible…you know…to spend time more time with Him. It’s all over the place actually. Think of all those Bible stories where people spend time with God in prayer and their prayers are answered. Or even all of those times that people in the Bible don’t make decisions until they have asked God what to do. Now here I could give you example after example of just this, all the folks in the Bible spending time with God, making decisions after prayer, and etc….but I’m not! Why? Because I want you to do the work this time. Hey, I’ve been delving into my Bible…it’s your turn. Find some examples of what we’re talking about. You can find lots of them…in the Old Testament and the New Testament. You can find them in the classic stories you’ve heard time and time again and even in some stories you haven’t discovered just yet. So, dig people dig…dig in that Bible. You’re already fast on your way to sucking God right up!
Let’s end with just one more interesting experience on the mountain…which again I note I drive all the time. Coming off the mountain Thanksgiving night, I had my 7 year old nephew Taylor in the car with me. I hear honking…lots of honking…and I see why. Apparently cars in the other lane were warning me of the car going about 50/60 miles per hour…in the wrong lane…my lane! As this car fastly approached I tell my nephew to hang on and look for options…two way road, can’t go in other lane b/c of other cars…can I steer the car just right so that I will take the hit instead of my 7 year old nephew? I was seriously considering this when….seconds before a head on collision and me saying many words not church-appropriate…a field….one I’ve never noticed before….but didn’t care….so I swerve into the field and brake among the grass and wheat or whatever the heck was in that field. After a few more choice words not appropriate for my nephew either, we stopped, I breathe, and my nephew says, “That was cool…can we do that again?” Two thoughts….Thank God my brain wasn’t on vacation that day. AND thank God for fields that come from the middle of nowhere! And at least there wasn’t a bear in the field……. J
