A thought by Max Lucado from his book, When God Whispers Your Name (p. 131). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)
My wife and I live in an apartment. It seems that whenever the fire alarm goes off it is in the middle of the night and we have to go outside so they can fix the problem inside. But for many of our problems we need to fix the inside.
Max says, “Alarms sound in your world as well. Maybe not with bells and horns, but with problems and pain. Their purpose is to signal impending danger. A fit of anger is a red flare. Uncontrolled debt is a flashing light. A guilty conscience is a warning sign indicating trouble within. Icy relationships are posted notices announcing anything from neglect to abuse.
“You have alarms in your life. When they go off, how do you respond? Be honest, now. Hasn’t there been a time or two when you went outside for a solution when you should have gone inward?”
He goes on, “Ever blamed your plight on Washington? (If they’d lower the tax rates, my business would work.) Inculpated your family for your failure? (Mom always liked my sister more.) Called God to account for your problems? (If he is God, why doesn’t he heal my marriage?) Faulted the church for your frail faith? (Those people are a bunch of hypocrites.)”
Max says, “Reminds me of the golfer about to hit his first shot on the first hole. He swung and missed the ball. Swung again and whiffed again. Tried a third time and still hit nothing but air. In frustration, he looked at his buddies and judged, ‘Man, this is a tough course.’
“Now, he may have been right. The course may have been tough. But that wasn’t the problem. You may be right, as well. Your circumstances may be challenging but blaming them is not the solution. Nor is neglecting them. Heaven knows you don’t silence life’s alarms by pretending they aren’t screaming. But heaven also knows it’s wise to look in the mirror before you peek out the window.
“Consider the prayer of David: ‘Create in me a new heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me’ (Ps. 51:10 NIV, emphasis mine). Read the admonition of Paul: ‘Fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out’ (Rom. 12:2 THE MESSAGE, emphasis mine). But most of all, listen to the explanation of Jesus: ‘I tell you the truth, unless one is born again, he cannot be in God’s kingdom’ (John 3:3).
“Real change is an inside job. You might alter things a day or two with money and systems, but the heart of the matter is and always will be the matter of the heart. Allow me to get specific. Our problem is sin. Not finances. Not budgets. Not overcrowded prisons or drug dealers. Our problem is sin. We are in rebellion against our Creator. We are separated from our Father. We are cut off from the source of life. A new president or policy won’t fix that. It can only be solved by God.
Max then says, “That’s why the Bible uses drastic terms like conversion, repentance, and lost and found. Society may renovate, but only God re-creates.”
So, do you have an alarm going off in your life? Will you turn to God and ask him to create a new heart in you? Will you?
Yes, yes!
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