A Sense of Urgency

Tragedy lives right next door to all of us. I am in the midst of watching dear friends struggle against the vicious enemy of cancer, a young girl crumble under the weight of grief from the loss of her daddy, and many other struggles that I see almost daily as this fallen world brings great burdens to my friends and so many very good people.

It would be easy to fall into the trap of feeling bad and then a few minutes later going about my business of planning dinner and thinking about the weekend. But I can’t. I’m affected somewhere deep inside and I hurt for the pain that they must endure as they travel planet earth.

But I ask myself--what difference does it make to me? What will I do differently today when I am exposed in such intimate ways with such tragedy on a regular basis? I have found that it creates in me a great sense of urgency. In my pursuit of Jesus and His will for my life, it is not enough anymore just to take a casual approach to His leading. I must intensify my desire to make Him the center of each day and each hour of my life.

And that renewed sense of passion brings about an excitement that knows no bounds. I love to love Jesus and I look so forward to what He has in store for me. I want to pursue a life with Him in such a way that nothing but full surrender will do. Worldly desires and materialistic goals no longer have a hold on me and it is a wonderful freedom that comes only in this urgent desire to find Him in every crevice of my day.

So I’ll not start looking tomorrow or in just a minute, I’m looking right now. I want to see Jesus in the face of my sons, in the drive in the morning to work, in my kitchen at dinner time and in my quiet hours of evening. And you know what? I’ve found He never disappoints. He shows up and blesses me immensely for my obedience to Him.

May God create in all of us an urgency to see Him more fully—starting right now!