Less. Less stress, less fighting, less striving, less spending, less anxiety, less worry, less fear, less sadness, less of the world, and less self. These are the things that I want less of this year.
It’s official – I’m old, or at least I feel old. I am into slowing down and smelling the roses these days. I can feel my body aging and I know that all these things that I want less of will cause that to happen a lot faster than I want it to. The truth is that I have spent so much of my life wrapped up in all these things that I have hardly noticed the roses along the way.
Satan loves it when we don’t notice the blessings along the way and most of all he loves to steal our peace and joy by keeping us wrapped up in all of the lesser things in life – lesser because they all lend less than the best to our lives.
Our Heavenly Father wants the best for us. He wants us to be free from these lesser things. He wants us to trust and rest in Him so we can live the opposite of all these things. When we stress, feel anxious, and worry we won’t feel His peace. When we fight, we won’t feel His love. When we strive, we will only know weariness, not His rest. When we spend needlessly, we will be burdened, and not trust His provisions. When we are sad, we miss His joy. When we love the world, we lose the community of His kingdom, and when we focus on self we don’t get the blessing of ministering to others.
Don’t let Satan have this year. Don’t let him rob you of the treasures you have been gifted by your Heavenly Father. Let go of all the lesser things and trade them for God’s better things.
By Lara Cook
