The Law of Demand

Last semester, I suffered through a macroeconomics class. I was absolutely terrible at it, and because I didn't understand majority of the content I didn't take a whole lot away from the class overall. One of the only things I remember is the law of demand, specifically that our demand for "more stuff" is never ending. No matter what, people are always going to want more. 

I think this unending want is innate, but is encouraged from a young age. We're taught that it's good to want more, and that the want for more is a sign of a good work ethic. As we grow up, we begin to equate "happiness" to "more stuff." It's not on purpose, it's just how we are (and how we're socialized). We think that if we can just get that one thing that we want, we will be happy and our desire for more will be met - but that isn't how the law of demand works.

The reason that the law of demand reigns supreme is because all of the things we're craving are temporary, as in the pleasure they provide for us is fleeting. In the end, we always end up craving more - more money, more sex, more authority at work, more attention - just more.

You may be asking yourself what this has to do with Jesus.

Well, allow me to introduce you to the love bucket metaphor.

We are human buckets. In order to achieve happiness, we fill our buckets with things that we love. This can be things like the affection of a boyfriend, drinking, shopping - basically anything that brings us comfort. The problem however, is that we are all born with a God-sized hole in our bucket. Each time we fill it with things of this earth, they slowly trickle out the hole in our buckets, leaving us empty again and again. Until we learn to patch that hole, our buckets can never be filled and we will never feel satisfied. 

It makes sense that we would patch a God-sized hole with God, but that's easier said than done. There are so many tangible and pleasurable things that we have access to, which makes it difficult to focus on God. We are so focused on getting "the next best thing" that we sometimes forget that God even exists.

I am incredibly guilty of this. I am a serial bucket-filler, and I fill it the most with boys. It's nice to feel loved, but I rely so much on the other person to make me feel complete that I always end up feeling disappointed and uncared for. This has made my romantic life very frustrating. It doesn't make sense to ask a boy to fill a God-sized hole, yet I expect them to do it over and over. 

Maybe you're the same way. Maybe your problem isn't boys, maybe it's spending money on things you don't really need. Maybe it's food. Maybe it's drugs or drinking. Maybe it's sleep. Whatever it is that you're relying on to make you happy is what you're using to fill your bucket - and if it's not God, you're always going to end up with that same empty feeling.

The cool thing about God is that He's overflowing with love, and He's not going to withhold the love that you're craving. In fact, He's waiting for you to accept it! Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, love in hand, ready to pour into you and fill your bucket at any time you wish - all you gotta do is let Him in!

It goes both ways though - you can't expect Jesus to come and pour into you if you're not pouring into Him. He wants a relationship with you, and relationships - as you know - require lots and lots of effort from both sides. Jesus is more than willing to do His part and fill you up, but you have to be willing to spend time with Him. Talk to Him. Pray fervently. Open your Bible and read His word. Having a relationship with Jesus is the most rewarding and fulfilling thing you can do for yourself. Ephesians 3:18-19 says:

"may you have the strength to comprehend what is the breadth and length and height and depth of the love of Christ for you that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled with the fullness of God."

God is ready to patch up your bucket.

Are you going to let Him?

(hint: you should.)

It will fill you up more than you thought possible, and will satisfy your every desire.

_________________________

Songs to praise Him to (because He's so good):

Satisfied - Jordan Feliz

O Come to the Altar - Elevation Worship

Spirit of the Living God - Vertical Worship

Standing Up

I've never been very good at standing up for myself. When I was little, I got bullied a lot. Kids can be mean, and I was a weird kid which made me an easy target. I would come home and tell my parents what the other kids said to me, and they would always help me come up with witty comebacks so I could defend myself. Every time I would write it down and bring it to school with me so I could tell it to my antagonizers, but when their taunting would start I would always lose my nerve and back down. I would always end up going home and feeling just as lousy as I did they day before. 

I remembered that feeling the other day when I was reading Esther. Esther is awesome, but as I was reading I realized that one of the most important characters in the story is actually Queen Vashti. She's only in the first chapter, but without her there's no way the Jews could have been rescued.

Esther 1:10-21 says:

"On the seventh day, when the heart of the king was merry with wine, he commanded his servants to bring Queen Vashti before the king with her royal crown, in order to show the peoples and the princes her beauty, for she was lovely to look at. But Queen Vashti refused to come at the king's command delivered by the servants. At this the king became enraged. 

Then the king said to his wise men 'according to the law, what is to be done to Queen Vashti, because she has not performed the command of the King Xerxes delivered by the servants?'

Then Memucan, a noble of the king, said 'the queen's behavior will be made known to all women, causing them to look at their husbands with contempt. If it please the king, let a royal order go out from him, and let it be written among the laws that Vashti is never again to come before King Xerxes. And let the king give her royal position to another who is better than she'. This advise pleased the king, and he sent letters to all the royal provinces."

We don't know much about Queen Vashti, but what we do know is that she had to have a really good reason that she didn't want to perform that day, since she probably knew that she would be punished - and my guess is that God left her reasoning unknown on purpose. Perhaps it was that she felt objectified being shown off for her looks rather than her intellect and grace. Maybe she was having marital issues. Maybe she was just too tired to do it that day. Whatever it was, something inside her snapped and made her bold enough to stand up to the king.

Maybe this situation sounds a little familiar to you. Maybe you've been dealing with things in your life that have left you feeling frustrated, hurt, or angry. Maybe you feel like you're being taken for granted. Maybe you're tired of people taking advantage of your kindness.

Maybe it's time for you to stand up for yourself too. 

You see, if Vashti hadn't stood up for herself things would have been way different. If she had just done as she was told, she wouldn't have had to step down from being queen, Esther would have never risen to power, and the all of the Jews in the land would have been killed. She was the catalyst in God's great plan.

Esther is one of the only books in the Bible that never mentions God's name. Instead, His presence is made known through the intricacy of the events that unfold. If you look closely, you can see that He was in control the entire time. God strategically placed things in Vashti's life that lead up to this moment. He allowed things to happen that caused her discomfort and pushed her to her limits so He could use her to fulfill His purpose. Vashti's disobedience to the king was part of God's plan. She didn't do anything big (I mean the book isn't called Vashti, it's called Esther), all she did was stand up for herself - and it sent a whirlwind of events into motion.

God doesn't want you to be a doormat. You're His precious creation! You are worth so much, and you deserve to be treated with respect by the people around you. He is allowing you to feel that discomfort that you feel in certain situations so that you learn to stand up for yourself. It doesn't have to be anything huge; something as little as saying no to hanging out with someone because you're too tired can have a positive impact on you. When you learn to stand up for what's good for you, God blesses you. He has opened up so many doors for me just because I learned how to stand up for myself. I've learned how to tell people no. I'm finally figuring out my worth. 

And let me tell you, it feels so good.

So my question to you is:

Are you standing up for yourself?

Maybe God's using trying to teach you a lesson.

Don't be scared, give it a try - you'll be surprised at the blessings you'll receive.

_________________________

Songs to help with your bravery as you learn to stand up for yourself:

You Make Me Brave - Amanda Cook & Bethel Music

HARD LOVE - NEEDTOBREATHE & Lauren Daigle

There's No "I" in Team, but There is in Anxiety

This week, I want to talk about something that hits close to home. Something that I have fallen victim to almost my entire life. Something that I know a lot of you struggle with daily  -

it's our good ol' friend anxiety. 

You know what I'm talking about - the pit in your stomach, waking up in the middle of the night sweating with you heart pounding out of your chest. I don't know a single person in my life who doesn't struggle with it. It seems to be a world wide epidemic, contaminating the minds of over 40 million Americans. So many people struggle with it, which begs the question:

why are we all so dang anxious?

I've always looked at anxiety as if it was a part of me; something that had to with a misfiring in my brain and therefore out of my control. I've spent countless nights laying awake in bed absolutely begging God to take away my anxious thoughts, but to no avail. I told myself that this was a burden that I was going to have to learn to live with.

What I didn't realize was that I was unintentionally imprisoning myself in my own mind.

When the devil wants to attack you, he's going to first set up camp in your mind. He's going to whisper nasty thoughts in your ear all night, making you worry and drift from bad thought to bad thought. His goal is to fill your head with so much junk that you couldn't possibly hear God's whisper.

And over 40 million of us fall for it. Every. Single. Day. 

What I never thought to consider however, is that I could actually be the root cause of my anxiety. I was choosing to fall victim to my anxiety because it was "out of my control," when in reality my lifestyle was what was causing me to have sleepless nights.

You see, we live in a world that tells us that the decisions we make are important. Our society tells us that we are in control of our destiny, and therefore we have to be very careful and take our time when making decisions. We are told daily "the choices that you make are going to impact you for the rest of your life, so choose wisely!"

If you're like me, that's where a lot of your anxiety comes from.

Fear of making the "wrong" decision has turned me into a major people pleaser. I am ashamed to say that I base almost all of my decisions on what will look good to others. I avoid any type of conflict because I live in a constant fear that I'll say or do the wrong thing and upset the people around me. For you, maybe it's the same thing. Maybe it's deciding where you're going to go for college. Maybe it's whether or not you should break up with your boyfriend. Maybe it's what you should have for dinner.

Maybe you spend so much time weighing the pros and cons of a situation that you end up just pushing it off, and you mask that procrastination by saying "I'm praying about it, but I haven't gotten a clear answer." 

By doing this, we give ourselves opportunities for anxiety and we call them "options."

But I'm going to let you in on a little secret - 

it doesn't matter.

You're staying awake all night and making yourself sick over something that God has already worked out. By allowing those anxious thoughts to ruminate in your brain, you're implying that you are in control of your life, when in reality God is the one who oversees it all. He knows you inside and out. He knows every decision you're going to make, and whether it's the right one or the wrong one He has already designed a plan for your life and you cannot possibly get in His way. If your heart is in the right place, then it doesn't matter what decision you make. People say "you made your bed, now lie in it" and I hate it. 

If you made the bed the wrong way, apologize and remake the dang bed. 

You're allowed to mess up. You're allowed to pick the wrong decision because God already has it all worked out. 

Stop worrying so much!

Your brain is a sacred place created by God - it's where He resides, where he communicates with you, and where He reveals to you your destiny. The next time you feel those anxious thoughts creeping in, yell at the devil to get his hands off of God's property.

Here's the bottom line: you're going to have hard decisions to make, and the enemy is going to use those to make your mind an anxiety ridden warzone. All you have to do is remind him how big your God is, and remember that He has your entire destiny completely mapped out.

I invite you this week to take control of your anxiety. 

Shift your intention from "how are people thinking of me?" to "how am I thinking of others?" Stop worrying about what "might" happen and remember that God has it all worked out. Start saying no to people when you want to say no to them, no matter how upset they may get with you. 

God is too good for you to stay anxious. 

Jesus is looking at you with nothing but love. No matter what choices you make, he is sitting on His throne and saying:

"This is my child, and with them I am well pleased."