I watch “Game of Thrones,” an HBO original series. There, I said it. It is one of those guilty little pleasures that I have in my life. It has suspense, murder, fighting, intrigue and of course, zombies. All the things that make a show great by Hollywood standards. The attached photo is from the Dark Hedges, which is a location in Ireland used in the show. Do you have any such shows or series that you watch? What attracts you to the show?
What is it about these types shows that draw us in and then keep us watching. I think sometimes watching something can take us away from our reality and transport off to a land of make believe. It allows us to not think, to not think about our lives, our stresses, our problems and all the problems in this world. It can be our escape.
In case you don’t watch “Game of Thrones”, it is a show about several different kingdoms that are fighting with each other to determine who will sit on the Iron Throne. Who ever sits on the Iron Throne rules over all the kingdoms as the ultimate King. The characters only care about one thing and they will do anything to get what they want, total domination.
Recently, the show has me thinking. Who or what sits on the throne of my life as the ultimate King? Is God in charge of all I do? As the bible says in Matthew 6:24; “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” So, does God sit on the Throne in my life? I try to makes sure He reigns over everything in me but then I let life get in the way. I get really busy at work sometimes, so busy, in fact, that nothing else seems to matters other than getting the job done. My career sometimes pushes God off His throne. Other times I worry about planning for our retirement in a few years. My financial planning pushes God off His throne. Sometimes, I will spend lots of time on my electronic devices instead of reading my bible or doing my bible study. Sometimes Facebook will push God off His throne. And sometimes, the worry of providing for our orphanages will consume all my thoughts. Our mission work will even push God off His throne sometimes.
It can be a daily struggle to keep God on the throne of my life. Every morning I have to surrender my day and my life to God in prayer. My morning prayer time helps me to keep my focus on Christ. Many times throughout my day I need to stop and offer up a quick prayer to refocus my attention on Jesus to keep Him in charge. It is something I have to work at daily and it will always be something I need to continue to do daily. To remind me of this each day, I electronic Post-It notes on my computer screen at work. The verse I keep on it is Psalm 19:14 (KJV) “Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” When I turn on my computer each morning, I speak the words of this verse to begin my day. Several times throughout the day, the note will catch my eye again and I will say them again. It helps me remember that God is my strength (or my rock as several other versions put it).
What is competing in your life to sit on the throne? Is God in charge or do you allow other things to reign supreme? It takes work to keep God at the center of our life. Just like any relationship, it requires us to go the extra mile to keep it alive and well. We can not just relax in our Christian walk and not expect the world to slowly crowd in and try to steal the throne. Be vigilant in prayer. Spend time each day in prayer to allow God to remain in His proper place. And when you feel the world pushing in, stop and ask Jesus to help you push the world back away. Always remember to keep the main thing, the main thing. And the main thing is always Jesus.
May the Lord Bless you and keep you.
Yvonne
Matthew 28:19 “Therefore, GO and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.”
