Chasin’ What Counts
Hey, there, friend, come on up on this ol’ front porch and let these boards greet you like they plum just finished hummin a welcome tune and were waitin’ for your boots to tap across them. I’m mighty glad you came stoppin’ by here. Git yourself settled into one of them ol’ rockers right over there and let the good Lord steady your heart the way a calm ol’ turtle sits on a sun‑warmed log even when a jittery lil’ ol’ frog splashes nearby. Psalm 27:4 says, “The one thing I ask of the Lord, the thing I seek most, is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life.” To deepen that longin’, Jeremiah 29:13 tells us, “You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.” These two verses stand together like two lil’ ol’ fireflies blinkin’ in harmony over the same summer meadow.
Friend, folks say the greatest danger in life is lettin’ the urgent things plum git to shovin’ out the really important things. And mercy, ain’t that the truth? Life’s lil’ ol’ rabbit holes can pull you in faster than a curiousol’ raccoon sniffin’ around a feed bucket. Before you know it, you’ve done gone and wandered so far from the one thing that really matters most, Jesus Christ, that you plum forget how you even got there.
Scripture uses the phrase “one thing” like a trail marker. Every time it pops up, it points us back to makin’ time for the Lord. Remember Martha fussin’ at Mary for sittin’ at Jesus feet while she did all the work? Jesus told her in Luke 10:41-42 that only one thing was worth bein concerned about. Mary had discovered it, and He said it wouldn’t be taken away from her. In other words, “Martha, sit down. The biscuits can wait.”
Are Martha’s actions a good description of your life right now? Are you runnin’ around like a lil’ ol’ rooster that plum forgot where the coop is? Unless we set our priorities straight, we’ll plum forget our purpose, which is to dwell with the Lord. If we don’t make time for God’s Word, prayer, and church, we’ll fall apart spiritually faster than a flimsy shed in a big ol’ Texas windstorm.
David understood this mighty well. In Psalm 57:7, he wrote, “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is steadfast and confident.” Paul echoed the same in Philippians 3:13-14, sayin’ he focused on one thing, forgettin’ the past and pressin’ forward toward the heavenly prize. And Jeremiah 29:13 reminds us that when we seek God with all our heart, we will find Him.
Everybody is livin’ for somethin’. The main thing is to plum keep the main thing the main thing.
Lord, help us seek You first. Fix our hearts on what matters and give us strength to choose time with You over distractions. Make our priorities clear and our devotion steady. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Well alright then, friend, looks like this ol’ porch has run out of stories for the moment, so you go on now and let the Lord steer your steps the way a steady shepherd guides a wooly sheep that keeps wanderin’ toward the blackberry bushes. May your purpose shine clear as a lil’ ol’ firefly blinkin’ its way through a twilight holler. May your heart stay anchored like a catfish sittin’ calm at the bottom of a quiet pond. May your thoughts rise sure and steady like a tall corn stalk reachin’ up for the sun after a good rain. And may you step into your day with your eyes fixed right on that one thing that matters most, seekin’ the Lord with a heart that plum refuses to be distracted by life’s noisy lil’ ol’ rooster crowin’ from every direction.
WIth joy,
Gwen
