“With a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.”
– Psalm 136:12
The Game of Chess
I’ve never been good at playing chess.
One time I’m playing it on my computer, and I got frustrated because I had never won a single game. After so many attempts, I got tired and left the game. I realized that like those chess pieces, I tend to control things using my own hands, relying upon my self-confidence. The end results are disappointing.
Often, when circumstances spiral beyond our control and busyness fills our calendars, we have a natural inclination to rely on ourselves rather than on God. It is very subtle that it may even pass our senses to grab back what we already put in the Lord’s hand. When we fall into this trap, there will be consequences and one of them is sacrificing our precious quiet time with the Lord. When we took control of things, and let our hands get full of all the pressures of this world, we might forget to pick up our Bible and immerse in it. This rings particularly true for me recently.
The Ultimate In-Control
I just came from an overseas company trip, and it shook my schedule. I got pumped and excited to apply all the new learnings that I didn’t even notice I’m slowly compromising my personal time with Jesus. One night I caught myself telling Him, “after nitong ginagawa ko Lord, magddevo na ako ulit”, but I got so tired, fell asleep, and forgot what I just said.
But praise God for He extends His arms, reaches out to me, picks me up, and places me closer to Him with a sweet reminder that he is ultimately in control. For this reason, I can regain my peace and reclaim my quiet time.
The Question of “Is it worth it?”
No matter how many tasks we may have completed, they are not valuable if they come at the cost of sacrificing our time for the Lord.
Just as in a game of chess, some of our moves can disrupt the whole game, similarly, our decisions and choices can also ruin our day and make us feel like we are losing the battle that Jesus has already won for us.
So, if by any chance you once took what you surrendered and ended up with compromises (like me), do not worry because God is fixing our unwise moves. By his grace and enduring love, He will enable us to triumph over our tendency to rely solely on ourselves, so that we may continuously rely on Him.
-Cheska Geron