Please, Stop Sleeping On The Floor!
Last year my husband and I decided it was time for us to get our youngest daughter a big girl bed. Therefore, we began our search. I have always harbored a desire to have bunk beds in the house. Eventually we found exactly what we wanted on Craigslist, and it turned out to be such a neat God story because the couple we bought them from desperately needed a reminder about Jesus. God used us to give it to them.
So long, story short we have had these beds in my house now for close to a year. I would think that since my youngest has two beds to pick from she would have gladly chosen either one. That would be too easy. For the most part of that year, she has either slept in a basket on the floor, or on the floor itself. Just a few days ago, my husband convinced her that if she wanted to be warm in the middle of the night she had to sleep in one of them and she just started to do that.
Watching this little girl for weeks and months insist on sleeping on the floor reminded me a lot about the other son in the parable of the prodigal son. The story can be found in Luke 15:11-31. To quickly paraphrase the story there was a man with two sons. One son asked for his inheritance and squandered it. When this son hit rock bottom he came home to his father. The father is so excited to see him he throws him a huge party. While the other son was always faithful, and he is quite ticked with his brother who gets the fatted calf party for his homecoming. The exchange between father and son is found in vs. 25- 32 (in the Message Bible) "All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done, he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, 'Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound. The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'"
There are so many things in the passage I could teach on, but in sticking with the illustration about my daughter and her beds, let’s focus on the last few verses. In this parable, Jesus is referring to the father of the sons being God the Father. He says to the other son, everything that is mine is yours.
So often we as believers settle for too less of God. We watch other people get blessed and we get annoyed. We’re just like my daughter with two beds and still sleeping on the floor. God wants us to get up off the floor and begin to walk in what He has for us.
2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” As believers, you have in God everything you need!
Psalm 37:4 (NIV) says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” As long as those desires are God desires, God delights in blessing His children!
God has so much more for you His child. Start walking in it today. Start praying and asking God what He would have for you. Start watching the circumstances of your life change. Too many Christians are choosing to sleep on the floor when God has more than enough waiting for them. As a parent in the illustration with my daughter, it was really frustrating that we went out and bought these beds for her, and she refused to sleep in them. Far too often, I’m convinced our choices frustrate God. It’s as if we keep choosing to live our lives in this little portion of His will for us, and we wonder why we’re not going anywhere. I think most of the time we do this simply out of habit. We do what we’re used too instead of trusting in Him and stepping out into the unknown. I don’t want to face Him one day and have Him tell me that He had this huge plan waiting for me, but I wouldn’t get up to use what He created for me. We’ll all be accountable for what we did and didn’t do on the earth.
Church, it’s time to step out in to the new thing! This is the word that has come forth time and time again. Take hold of what He has for you! Grab it and refuse to let go. Don’t look at the floor anymore! Forget sleeping down there. He’s calling you up, and He’s causing you to move forward!
So long, story short we have had these beds in my house now for close to a year. I would think that since my youngest has two beds to pick from she would have gladly chosen either one. That would be too easy. For the most part of that year, she has either slept in a basket on the floor, or on the floor itself. Just a few days ago, my husband convinced her that if she wanted to be warm in the middle of the night she had to sleep in one of them and she just started to do that.
Watching this little girl for weeks and months insist on sleeping on the floor reminded me a lot about the other son in the parable of the prodigal son. The story can be found in Luke 15:11-31. To quickly paraphrase the story there was a man with two sons. One son asked for his inheritance and squandered it. When this son hit rock bottom he came home to his father. The father is so excited to see him he throws him a huge party. While the other son was always faithful, and he is quite ticked with his brother who gets the fatted calf party for his homecoming. The exchange between father and son is found in vs. 25- 32 (in the Message Bible) "All this time his older son was out in the field. When the day's work was done, he came in. As he approached the house, he heard the music and dancing. Calling over one of the houseboys, he asked what was going on. He told him, 'Your brother came home. Your father has ordered a feast—barbecued beef!—because he has him home safe and sound. The older brother stalked off in an angry sulk and refused to join in. His father came out and tried to talk to him, but he wouldn't listen. The son said, 'Look how many years I've stayed here serving you, never giving you one moment of grief, but have you ever thrown a party for me and my friends? Then this son of yours who has thrown away your money on whores shows up and you go all out with a feast!' "His father said, 'Son, you don't understand. You're with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he's alive! He was lost, and he's found!'"
There are so many things in the passage I could teach on, but in sticking with the illustration about my daughter and her beds, let’s focus on the last few verses. In this parable, Jesus is referring to the father of the sons being God the Father. He says to the other son, everything that is mine is yours.
So often we as believers settle for too less of God. We watch other people get blessed and we get annoyed. We’re just like my daughter with two beds and still sleeping on the floor. God wants us to get up off the floor and begin to walk in what He has for us.
2 Peter 1:3 (NIV) says, “His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.” As believers, you have in God everything you need!
Psalm 37:4 (NIV) says, “Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.” As long as those desires are God desires, God delights in blessing His children!
God has so much more for you His child. Start walking in it today. Start praying and asking God what He would have for you. Start watching the circumstances of your life change. Too many Christians are choosing to sleep on the floor when God has more than enough waiting for them. As a parent in the illustration with my daughter, it was really frustrating that we went out and bought these beds for her, and she refused to sleep in them. Far too often, I’m convinced our choices frustrate God. It’s as if we keep choosing to live our lives in this little portion of His will for us, and we wonder why we’re not going anywhere. I think most of the time we do this simply out of habit. We do what we’re used too instead of trusting in Him and stepping out into the unknown. I don’t want to face Him one day and have Him tell me that He had this huge plan waiting for me, but I wouldn’t get up to use what He created for me. We’ll all be accountable for what we did and didn’t do on the earth.
Church, it’s time to step out in to the new thing! This is the word that has come forth time and time again. Take hold of what He has for you! Grab it and refuse to let go. Don’t look at the floor anymore! Forget sleeping down there. He’s calling you up, and He’s causing you to move forward!
Comments
Post a Comment