There Are No Pockets In A Shroud

Wow, its been a while. We've been busy packing, moving to a new apartment, and unpacking.

I heard this phrase from David Jeremiah on one of his broadcasts and thought it was a very fine way of remembering what to focus our time, treasure, and talent on.

This past weekend I lost that focus entirely. I was so determined to get the whole place unpacked before I went back to work on Monday, that I ignored my wife, my kids and God doing my part to get it done. You know what happened? What had started out as a reasonable good intentioned effort that I felt good about turned into a self-centered obsession that left me feeling annoyed and angry, until I realized I was feeling that way and why.

As I write this, what I find interesting is that all too often I take something fine and wreck it, which is quite the opposite of what God does. He often takes something wrecked and broken that was intended for evil and pulls some good out of it in amazing ways.

As a baby Christian, I have seen evidence of this so often many times in my walk with the Lord so far. When I stumble, I don't realize it until I hit the ground. Then I moan and groan for a while. Then I see that He is right there to dust me off and show me the stick that I tripped over. I asked Him to do that (not in those exact words), and He has, proving His faithfulness to me at the same time He helps me in other ways. What an awesome God we have!

This time, what the Lord has shown me is something that, quite truthfully, He has shown me already on more than one occasion -- that the things of this world are just that -- of this world. We shouldn't get wrapped up in them. Rust destroys. Moths eat. Burglars steal. Fire burns.

What's more important? That the pictures on the wall of my family are hung, or that we have such a great close family to take pictures? That the girls' toys are put away neatly in there place, or that we enjoy our time together playing with them? That the books are on their shelves, or that we dig in to the Word of God?

I know what's more important. I just forget it sometimes. I'm glad I have that spirit thing to remind me. We can send heavenly treasure ahead of us, but we can't take earthly treasure with us -- after all, there are no pockets in a shroud.