McDonalds Generation

I myself have grown up eating fast food. I love the taste of a greasy cheeseburger, over salted french fries and a large lemonade. Now you might be asking, lemonade, really??? Yes I try and get one healthy thing a midst my fat free burger and fries. The greatest thing is that no matter what time of day or night, you can drive up to a fast food restaurant and receive your meal with in 5 minutes or less. Options, we have plenty, especially in Texas. If you don't like what you see on one corner, drive a little bit further. There are restaurants on every corner, right next to the all the churches. Patience has been completely wiped away and left the excess salt the napkin could not get rid of. As I pondered this beautiful scripture I was having the hardest time wrapping my head around it. There is no mystery, it's just so darn difficult to do when everything around us says, give it to me now. If you want to look up where the nearest Whataburger is, Google has it! And yes for all you northerners Whataburger is a burger chain in Texas. Think about this for a minute, Philippians 4:6 says "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Too many times in my life I have prayed Lord, should I take this new job, while I was sitting in the interview. Or Lord, should I buy this new car, while sitting in the car dealership. We want answers to life's questions, problems and mysteries right now! Our generation has lost what it means to be anxious for nothing! I have a hard time driving in the car with no radio on because my thoughts drive me crazy. I hear so many voices, what I need to do for work, oh I forgot to call Mr. Customer back, I need to follow up with... you fill in the blank. The phrase "silence is deafening" is more than true to me in my life right now. Especially when I am trying to hear clearly the word of the Lord for my life and my family. What do you think Paul meant when he said, Be anxious (do not be worried, have any anxiety about anything) for nothing, but in EVERYTHING by prayer and supplication (definite requests) with Thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God! Do you think that if we as a generation started to pray about every decision we made the world around us would change? I know from personal experience that if and when I pray and bring my concerns before the Lord, I don't carry around the baggage of stress. The worry of am I going to make my monthly commission quota, how am I going to pay my bills, should my wife go back to work, should I take this new job that requires me to travel more, should I quit my job and move to Africa, well I'm kidding about the Africa piece. But you get my point, what can you lay down at the feet of Jesus that you are carrying around. I really like the way the Amplified version of the bible says verse 7, And God's peace [shall be yours, that tranquil state of a soul assured of its salvation through Christ, and so fearing nothing from God and being content with it's earthly lot of what every sort that is, that peace] which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. When I think of tranquility, I imagine a Japanese garden with rocks and water gently flowing, loud enough to hear the water rushing over the rocks, quiet enough that you have to be next to it to hear. I want you to imagine this, picture your heart, now picture your heart with a wall of protection surrounding it, that wall is as high as the sky and as deep as the ocean, that wall is peace! The God of peace will enter your heart and protect it with his peace when you surrender your anxiety to him in prayer. I want to encourage you this evening as you read this or even in the morning, take a moment to silence the voices that are fighting for you attention. Turn off the radio and tv, turn your cell phone on vibrate and just sit and rest. Let your mind focus on the Lord, let him guard your heart with the peace that truly passes all understanding. I promise you will not be disappointed. With Grace,