During training camp one of the speakers warned us about how challenging the 6 weeks between training camp and launch would be. He warned us that the enemy would be ready to attack us during this very vulnerable time. Even though I believed him I was not too worried. I mean how hard could it really be? Well as it turns out he was right. Even though I have only been back for a couple of weeks, the enemy has already been attacking. One specific area that the enemy has been using to distract my attention away from the Lord is materialism.
I love shopping. I love the thrill of going into a store and coming out with a brand new, super cute clothing item (or items). Half of the fun is the feeling I get when I buy something new. However, that feeling probably lasts about 10 minutes and then I’m back to feeling unsatisfied and wanting the next new thing. It is an endless, vicious cycle that can be extremely dangerous if it is not handled properly.
This constant desire for material things has been consuming my life these past few weeks. It seems so ridiculous considering the fact that I am about to live out of a backpack and only bring a handful of clothing items with me for the next 11 months. After struggling with trying to figure out where this desire to consume things was coming from all of a sudden it clicked. I am about to give up the luxury of shopping and wearing cute new clothes for the next year. I am going to leave behind almost all of my material possessions. I realized that this desire to buy things was rooted in my anxiety about being deprived of those material things for the next year.
As I am writing this I becoming more and more convicted. Jesus specifically says in Matthew 6:19-21 “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” Wow. I have read this verse probably a thousand times, yet I still need to be reminded that earthy things are temporary.
I have been trying to buy satisfaction with material things when in reality I know in my heart that isn’t the answer. The only thing that will ever truly satisfy me is Jesus and I need to remember that every single day. The devil will try to entice us with shiny new things and make us believe that if we just buy one more pair of jeans then we will be happy. That is a lie and deep down we know that. In the end everything on earth will be destroyed. We need to invest our lives in eternal things. I hope and pray that the Lord will use this next year of leaving behind my material possessions to reveal himself to me in a new way. It is time for me to say goodbye to my love for material things and discover who I am in Christ alone.
