The Word and The World

As I've mentioned before, I get a lot of chaos in my brain since my stroke. Too much input (which now means just a couple of things happening at once!) results in mental confusion or even inability to deal with any of them, as well as frustration and even anger. I wasn't like this before obviously...and even though it's been a few years, I still struggle in dealing with it, since I apparently can't "screen out" input so as to concentrate on one thing at a time...

Anyway, recently I've increasingly been experiencing this mental chaos/frustration/anger cycle going on and haven't been able to pinpoint exactly why. My environment or the people around me (who "get it") haven't changed. So, what then...?

The internet has been great for me. I can talk to people, post updates, and be social without having to think quickly, or deal with other stuff at the same time. I can do it on my terms, when other things aren't vying for my limited attention. I used to be quick and smart in conversations; now I can still be quick and smart when I'm writing because I can take time to think and control the environment.

It's been great being able to witness and share the gospel online, especially via social networks.

But there, as in "real life", there is a whole lot of the world. And I have really let the world's concerns bore holes in my spirit. It's been a slow, incremental change, but a change just the same, until it all started upheaval in my carefully-ordered world. I found myself struggling with even mundane, common tasks and thought processes, frustration and anger taking over more and more...

It took a while to realize what was happening. It wasn't the fault of the internet or social media, it wasn't even a "fault" at all, just an encroachment that I didn't see happening and therefore didn't stop.

The reason I'm even writing about it is that the same things can happen to any of us. The world, its views, its problems and issues, all start taking up more and more space in our thoughts and lives. It isn't that we aren't to deal with them - share and love our brothers and sisters, take the gospel to the world, uproot sin in the name of Jesus wherever it is found - but that these things can't be allowed to become our focus.

Our eyes must always stay on Jesus. Our hearts must always be full of the Word. Even as we do whatever He has called us to do, it is still all about HIM and not about the world. I have to say that again, it is so important: It is all about Him and not about the world.

So last week I decided to take a sabbatical from social networks for the weekend, and focus on Jesus, on the Word, on prayer...then yesterday - Sunday - came, and church, and a guest speaker/singer. And God used her in such a mighty way in my heart!! The things she said were like arrows, shooting the truth right into my spirit! So many things I can't begin write them all down (I can't remember them anyway but I remember their gist), and I'm thrilled that Pete "taped" the whole thing on his Droid! He's never done that before - another way God moved - but I can listen to her again and again!

I need more time with the Lord. My social networking will be severely curtailed, so I can spend time in the Word and in prayer. I haven't been blogging as much either, and that's going to change. I've overdosed on the world, on worldly events and issues and too many things temporal. Now I'm craving once again fellowship with my Father and a spirit that is centered on the spiritual and the eternal.

I am so thankful that God didn't just hand me back over to the world!

(Note that links to this blog are posted on various social sites. If you reply there, I probably won't see it. Just sayin'...)