Once upon a time, there was a girl who was freaking out about how good her house looked, and she was cleaning it even when her guest was over because she was ashamed.  Her sister was enjoying the guest.  But she saw her sister and thought, “What a lazy bum.  I’m doing all this work, and she’s not even helping me!”

This food tastes… bitter…

Resentment.  Envy.  Impatience.  Panic.

Tragedy.

These are the feelings we feel, the mindsets we adopt, when we feel like our love is “needed,” but we don’t (and often can’t) give it joyfully.  Our work is “needed” but not “willing.”  We start finding our worth in our performance, and it keeps us from being loved just for who we are.  And life and love become nothing more than things we do because we have to. 

Is that really what is “needed?”

The guest appreciated her effort, but missed spending time with her.  She was busy… but not in love.  She traded a once-in-a-lifetime visit for a temporarily tidy house.  What a rip-off!

The guest knew the loss of her choice, and said to her, “Look.  You are worried about many things.  You think you need all of these things to be content, and it’s only stressing you out.  Only a few things are really necessary.  Actually, let’s keep it simple: Only one thing is necessary. 

“Your house will get dust and mice.  It will need to be cleaned.  But even more pressing is your need for me.  You need me infinitely more than you need a clean house and a good reputation.”  (P.S.  If you haven’t guessed, this special guest was Jesus in the story counted in Luke chapter 10.)

“So no matter where you go, take me with you.”

We know that we need to need God.  We want to want Him.  But sometimes we don’t want to do what we need to do.

What then?  Do we just buck up and do it?  Do we just refuse to do it at all?

I think there’s a better way.

Whenever I’m panicking about life, God’s like, “Megan, take a chill pill.  You need to rest.”  And then I’m like, “But I can’t!  I need to do this!  Or… or else!”  And God’s like, “Or else what?  My plan won’t come to fruition in your life?  The world will end?  …Well, I guess the world will end regardless.  But I AM your Creator, and I AM working out my plan for your life — remember, the one I bought?  It’s mine.  If you just hear me out, obey me by resting, I promise things will work out.”

“I don’t want your success.  I have that already.  Success or not, I want you.”

Once upon a time, God created this book called the Bible.  He claims that, if you do what it says, your life will be blessed.  Period.  No special cases.  This isn’t the English language with all its rules that are really more like guidelines.  When we obey the Word of God, no matter the circumstance, no matter what things look like, no matter how we feel, no matter the utilitarian way we like to pick and choose which morals seem the best to follow, He is going to take care of us.

Do you believe that?

I choose to believe that today:  I have a quiz that I’m missing right now because I realized I was freaking out about my life and God told me to just rest and be with Him in my writing.  This will bring my grade down to a B.  (God forbid!)  So what?  Refusing to spend time with God just so I can get me some points in my class?  What a ripoff.  I’d rather bring him with me to school to rely on Him for success than leave Him and pretend I formed my own brain and did it myself. I’d rather thank Him for a B than boast about an A without gratitude.

(Note: By no means am I saying it’s inherently wrong to do well in school.  I often use my schoolwork as a form of worship, and God often uses school to teach me about Himself.  But when I’m working for my own purposes, it’s better to take a break and start tracking with God again than to run up ahead of Him without a game plan.)

God tells me who I am, and what is needed for my life, which belongs to Him.  Not me.  And I don’t belong to the world, and the world can’t tell me who I have to be.  What does the world know?  It’s “going to Hell in a hand basket,” as my mom likes to say.  And in the meantime, Jesus is livin’ it up in Heaven.  I think He knows better than anybody how best to live my life.

Every day, love is a choice.  And you get to choose who or what will run your life that day.  Which master have you chosen?  Wherever you go, He desires to walk with you today.