A few months ago, my friend, Debbie Hopper, posted this picture on her Instagram stories with the caption, "How many birds will flock to sit in 1" of dirty water?"
I have thought about her caption and this picture so much in the last few weeks. The Lord has used this image to spark some selah moments in my heart and He has spoken pretty loudly in them—and—it's been awfully convicting for me.
You see, as humans, whether we like it or not, there tends to be plenty of 'group think' happening in our lives. If we are not very careful, we are easily swayed by what everyone is doing, thinking, listening to, watching, consuming and calling truth. The latest shows. The newest albums. The hottest news story. And worse, we can be swayed by these things, even changed by these things, and unknowingly lulled into choices that become patterns in our lives without even realizing it's happening.
We will flock to 1" of dirty water because everyone else is too.
Often it's not purposeful, it's simply a slow, unintentional drift. Until one day you wake up and realize that your life's patterns are not what they once were. "Going with the flow" has now left you clamoring right along with the masses for that proverbial 1 inch of dirty water with music and shows and conversations and decisions that everyone else is listening to, watching, talking about and making.
These decisions you didn't even realize you were making are now creating a life for you that is contrary to what God's word calls true, what He says about you, what He wants for you, and, if you're honest, what you want for yourself or what you know is best for your life.
Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you. (Romans 12:2, The Message)
How often do we stop to consider these things? How often do we take an audit of what we're allowing to enter our hearts and minds?
I was so inspired by my friend, Carrie Davis, who recently took a deep dive into what she was allowing herself to consume on Instagram. She purged her list to just those that she truly loved, that she was genuinely interested in, or people that she personally knew. When I asked her about it she likened it to cleaning house and said she now has a completely different experience when engaging with her social media feed.
Maybe this is an area that is not a struggle for you. Maybe you have a great grip on what is "true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, excellent or praiseworthy" (Phil. 4:8) and have a strong filter for those things. (I'd love to learn from you!) However, I know I need an audit in a few areas of my life. It's amazing how even a picture... a pause... can contain the presence of the Lord and how He can speak to us, and will, and uses absolutely anything to get our attention.
Even 1" of dirty water.
How We Wait Today:
✨ As summer approaches, I want to take an audit and encourage you to do the same. I know there are things in my life that I need to lay aside. These are things that, in the language of Romans, are "dragging me down." If it's been a while since you've taken a hard look at your playlists or streaming queue or accounts you follow or commentary that you're participating in and what kind of life-experience it's crafting for you, now's a great time to do so. The world wants to tell you what 1 inch of water to sit in, but remember—YOU are in charge of what you consume. Let's be people with an awareness that there is so much more than 1 inch but instead a limitless ocean of God's abundance awaiting as we pursuit the fruit of Phil 4:8 and a loving Father who wants to change us from the inside out as we do.
((Want to read more from Tara and more about hearing God in everyday moments? Pick up your copy of Waiting On Wonders, 40-Days of Wonder Devotional at Amazon or get a signed, jacketed hardback special edition copy HERE)) ✨