Lord, some days it’s hard to see beyond the brokenness in this world. People are enslaved and desperate for You. Yet, they grasp for counterfeit gods—things that give temporary happiness, but leave them empty. The result is widespread despair. So many in America take antidepressants, and so many more self-medicate trying to cope with their reality. Sadly, I see far too many within the church caught up in the same futility. You’ve loosed their chains, but they stay stuck and controlled by old patterns rather than the newness of life You offer. For me, it boiled down to trying to please myself rather than completely abandoning all to You. How odd that You choose dying to self as the path to life, and becoming captive to You as the path to freedom. It goes against every human instinct. No wonder so few find what You have to offer. They don’t want to let go their desire for control and their plan for finding happiness, yet all the while their efforts are the very reason they are so miserable. They tell themselves “I want ______,” or “I need _______” in order to be happy. But things rarely turn out the way they plan. The things they want and think they need usually disappoint, because only You offer satisfaction for the soul. It is so true that your wisdom is foolishness to world. Reminds me of that old Michael Card song:
Gods Own Fool
Seems I’ve imagined Him all of my life
As the wisest of all of mankind
But if God’s Holy wisdom is foolish to men
He must have seemed out of His mind
For even His family said He was mad
And the priests said a demon’s to blame
But God in the form of this angry young man
Could not have seemed perfectly sane
Chorus
When we in our foolishness thought we were wise
He played the fool and He opened our eyes
When we in our weakness believed we were strong
He became helpless to show we were wrong
And so we follow God’s own fool
For only the foolish can tell-
Believe the unbelievable
And come be a fool as well
So come lose your life for a carpenter’s son
For a madman who died for a dream
And you’ll have the faith His first followers had
And you’ll feel the weight of the beam
So surrender the hunger to say you must know
Have the courage to say I believe
For the power of paradox opens your eyes
And blinds those who say they can see
Chorus
So we follow God’s own Fool
For only the foolish can tell
Believe the unbelievable,
And come be a fool as well
Father, there are many I love who see your ways as foolish. I was sure there at one point, so I ask You now to penetrate their hearts and minds. Help them see the beauty of surrender to You, and to find the life that come through death. Touch their blind eyes and help them to see. You are so amazing. Help me to show others how wonderful You are, and let them embrace the what seems entirely foolish to this world. Amen