We can all relate to looking to another person to meet our needs rather than looking to God. In today’s short video, Michelle shares how God revealed that her daydreams of finding love were actually keeping her from experiencing God's real Love that was available to her at that very moment.
Have you ever found yourself obsessing over an unfulfilled dream? Maybe it's that dream of buying a new Harley Davidson, or your dream trip to Hawaii, or maybe the idea of holding a newborn baby in your arms.
Our unfulfilled dreams can harass us. And that's what happened to me when my life was a tangled mess. I found myself single again and longing to find love somewhere, from someone. One Christian man caught my attention and my mind went over the idea of a relationship with him again and again. I found myself entertaining make-believe conversations with him while driving in my car but every time I arrived at my destination, the fantasy ended and I felt more empty than ever. My need for love was driving the fantasy but the fantasy never fulfilled the need on some level.
I was looking for love from a person when God was inviting me to get that love directly from Him.
One day, in the middle of going over and over that same old fantasy in my mind, God gave me the picture of a chew toy and I saw the connection right away. You see, the chew toy has no nutritional value whatsoever, just like my daydreams held no real love. My daydreams were just an activity that chewed up my time. When I began to really look at how I was drooling over a guy, I saw the chew toy for what it really was: a lifeless, loveless activity that was covered in my slimy spit, and it kept me from experiencing God's real Love that was available all the time. I pictured myself taking that wet, nasty chew toy and handing it over to Jesus.
It's been a few years and I'm still single, but now as I drive down the road, instead of chewing on a daydream that leaves me empty, I enjoy God's actual presence and Love that satisfies my soul. Now, that's worth chewing on!
Romans tells us, “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.” Romans 12:2 (NLT)
So, if you have your own chew toy, see it for what it really is: a distraction from experiencing the very Life and Love of God. What will you do with your chew toy? It's time to lay it down at Jesus' feet.