Game Changer

I almost came to tears as I listened to "O Holy Night" the other day. It was the version from The Best Man Holiday soundtrack when Jayda Brown and Jasmine Watkins made it a duet. I guess I emoted because their voices sounded so pure and childlike. I could tell they had a natural talent to sing, but their voices were still mousy and new. It just expressed such innocence to me.

Then I listened closely to the words ...

"Long lay the world in sin and error pining, (We needed help)

'Till he appeared and the soul felt its worth. (We had a Savior who could help make sense of who we were meant to be)

A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices (Peeps had something in which to hope) ...

Chorus Fall on your knees, Oh hear the angel voices (Do what the angels do & worship Him)

O night divine. O night when Christ was born (The game changer is here)

O night, O holy night, O night divine (Game changer ...)

*words in parentheses are mine

Bare Bones ... Bottom Line

These words express the bare bones of the opportunity afforded to people of the weary world to choose a Savior who could save and restore them to the relationship God intended to have with His creation.

And through Jesus, this is as simple as believing that He came for this reason and saying it with them flappers on your face (see Romans 10:9 & 10).

Then, when it comes to understanding who we are and why we're here, it makes sense to ask the One who made us, yes? This is called conversation with God A.K.A prayer. And as I listened to Pastor David Wilford of All Nations Worship Assembly (Chicago West Campus), and he spoke of prayer not being something God intended to feel obligatory to us but a relational method of communication from Father to child and vice versa, my insides said "Yes!"

Simplify

I find myself talking to God in a similar manner to how I talk to my dad (named David -- a different David than the one above, of course). If I'm confused, I say, "God, I'm confused." If I'm sad, I say, "Father, I'm sad." If I'm mad, I say, "Lord, help me to close my mouth before I say something to make things worse."

God hasn't set out to make life with Him complicated at all. The Bible speaks of the way to heaven as "a plain way" and "those knowing but little, and unlearned, shall be kept from missing the road" (Matthew Henry Commentary). What, in fact, complicates things between us and Him is when we don't want to do what He wants us to do. We have a problem with the big 'O'. Yep. We struggle with O-B-E-D-I-E-N-C-E. It's our will versus His.

But, in 3 John 2 the Apostle John writes to his friend Gaius and wishes that both Gaius' physical and spiritual health would be rich. This scripture has held my attention for years because who doesn't want good health? Who wants to be sick, disabled, & in physical pain? No one I know. The apostle is sending his friend encouragement that he's not only thinking of him but that he understands the dynamic relationship between prosperity of the soul and the physical body.

Barking Up All the Wrong Trees

However, here's what gets overlooked by the majority ... many wish for physical and material prosperity without prosperity of the soul. And yes, today, there are several paths people take to try and enrich their souls to fulfillment; however, we go off target in pursuit to make anything a god which is outside of the One who created the soul. Many are taking shots in the dark when the bullseye is the most LIT there is, ever was, and ever will be. "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me," says Jesus in John 14:6. And the thing is that folks are so busy doubting this, which is a waste of time. Of course, God's the only One who can redeem wasted time, but I'd rather not require this of Him ... I'd rather obey the first go-around.

If we get on board with Him from the jump, and walk in alignment with what He wants, we can sit in prayer with more of a relational posture versus the obligatory one. We'll want to come to our Father because He's our Father and not because we have to. We'll pant for knowing what He wants us to know and how He wants us to see things so we don't waste time, thought, energy, or resources. Instead of worrying, I wish to simply ask Him how I should think about the thing that tempts me to fret. And here's where I believe we can start to conquer fear.

So, when you "fall on your knees", let it be out of relationship with your Father and not obligation. How do you get here? Start with the big 'O' in the small things. This, indeed, will change the game and the player in you.