Epiphany

Today's Daily Soap {Scripture | Observation | Application | Prayer}

• S: "These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it. Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it, I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears. The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing." [Isaiah 29:13-14 MSG]
• O: Today was a very stressful day. The past week, in fact, has led up to it with some unusual happenings at work. First, last week there was a meeting of several District Managers and above at our corporate headquarters. This week, I have a visit scheduled with some people from our corporate headquarters and from a liquidation company that is coming in to pick up several clearance items as part of a test that will likely be rolled out to the entire company if it is successful in my store. I also received word that My District Manager and Loss Prevention Manager will be in my store on Wednesday to look into some high merchandise shrink numbers. And, there is a Store Manager meeting tomorrow for the entire District. It's been a hectic week. My company closed nearly three dozen stores several months ago, and has been struggling financially for quite some time. With a new CEO and Executive Council, the company is trying to reinvent itself. Any time a company is in this situation, it can be difficult not to worry about what might happen next -- restructuring, job eliminations, store closures, etc. All of the unusual coincidences happening at the same time have had me wondering a bit. I say all of that to say this: WOW! Did I have an epiphany today. After stressing over much of this and calling my wife to let out the stress, I sat in my car during a very short lunch and spent some time reading through the Bible. I read several chapters, and shortly after starting what I had planned to be the last chapter, I read the passage quoted above. It felt amazingly like God was trying to speak to me.
• A: "These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their hearts aren't in it." I want my heart to be "in it," but clearly there are distractions and preoccupations in life that tend to steal attention away from God and family. "Because they act like they're worshiping me but don't mean it,..." Of course I worship God. But, when I'm in church, and we're singing, do I feel it? Am I worshipping and praising -- or just singing? And what of the rest of the week? Where is the praise and worship then? "I'm going to step in and shock them awake, astonish them, stand them on their ears." The message is coming through loud and clear now. How easy it could be for my whole world to be turned on it's end by things such as lost jobs or store closures. "The wise ones who had it all figured out will be exposed as fools. The smart people who thought they knew everything will turn out to know nothing." Now I know. See, I felt as if God was trying to get through to me, to tell me that I'm not quite living the life that He would want me to live. Like He had stood me on my ears with all of the uncertainty at work. When my wife and I were looking for our new house, we made several commitments to each other -- and to God -- that we haven't been doing a very good job of living up to. In some cases, we have actually used the new house as one of the excuses for not living up to these commitments. Through this passage in Isaiah, I feel that God has opened up my eyes and made me realize that there are some things that I need to be doing for Him. Funny thing of it is, when I spoke with my wife about it afterward and told her of my epiphany, she said she had been thinking the very same thing last night.
• P: God, I hear You. I hear You and I understand. Thank You for bringing me to the realization that we haven't been honoring our commitments to You. Whatever Your Will might be regarding the situation at work, I put my faith in You to see us through it.

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