What Do I Need - Living Lesson

Living Lesson: What do I need?

By: Christopher Wiles

“What do I need?”  Sometimes I wake up like America, feeling a little drained, so I asked the question today, “What do I need?”  Asking this deeply thought provoking meta-cognitive question about my own spiritual condition, I came up with more answers than Trump has boasts, than Hillary has lies, than America has problems.  Delving into the depths of my own spiritual psyche looking for solutions is like cracking open a fortune cookie looking for an answer to solve all my problems, it’s worthless.  Realizing the futility in answering the question by myself, I sought to find the answer to my spiritual needs through my daily calendar Bible readings.  It involves one part OT History, two parts wisdom Literature, one part NT inspiration.  Surely God would give me something interesting and exciting for me to achieve today spiritually! 

Check out the theme laid out in my reading below.

Psalm 119:97-98 “Oh, how I love your instructions!  I think about them all day long.  Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are my constant guide.”

Proverbs 16:20 “Those who listen to instruction will prosper; those who trust the Lord will be joyful.”

John 18:20 “Jesus replied, ‘Everyone knows what I teach.  I have preached regularly…’”

2 Chronicles 35:4  “Prepare yourselves according to your fathers' houses, according to your divisions, following the written instruction of David king of Israel and the written instruction of Solomon his son.”

Thanks God (sarcasm intended).   I wanted some excitement, something passionate, amazing intellectual entertainment, or something so thought provokingly wild that I’ll mull over it all day long.  Yet I find what I need to find spiritual life, joy, and guidance is not in all the spiritual fluff given by deep televangelists or the latest best seller Christian author on the bookshelf.  What I need spiritually is simply the Lord’s instructions, His teachings, and His preachings from His Holy Word, and then I need to listen to it. 

Maybe America and I have a lot in common.  Maybe we don’t need to solve our problems by asking ourselves, by entertaining the issues away, by the next well written party platform, or by following a popular pontificating politician.  Maybe we all simply need the Lord’s instructions.