Going Through The Motions

Sometimes all you can do as a man is just go through the motions, or fake it til you make it.  Do you know what I mean?  There are pressures all around us as men; family, work, church, community endeavors and the like.  We are pulled from so many different directions, all with one thing in common, somebody needing us to come through once again.  It's no wonder men everywhere are falling to alcohol, porn and any other cheap escape they can find.  I've found it in my own life to be quite maddening at times.

What is a man to do when he finds himself being pulled in so many directions at once?  I mean we can't go cry to our mommies (although I've met a few who still do that). There has to be something to help us, dear God please let it be so.  Otherwise I might just scream!  Does anyone else out there even know what I'm talking about, or am I the only one?

The world tells us to perform to find our self worth.  Do more at work! What do you mean you can't do the yard work and spend 70+ hours at your job?  What kind of man are you anyway?  Aren't you Superman? The world will make you feel like a true loser if you continue to try and go its way.  It's not set up to help men get ahead in life, it's there to tear us down.  The god of this world will see to that if you let him.

So what is a man to do?  First take a look at this passage of Scripture:  "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls."  Matthew 11:29  I put those words in red, because they are the words of Jesus himself.  He is telling us to take His yoke and learn from Him.  Now at a casual glance Jesus telling us to put a yoke on, a fella could think that all He is talking about is you and I adding something else to our list of things to do.  But that really isn't what He is talking about at all.

I've heard it said that when people would yoke together two oxen, they would pair an older more established ox with a younger one to train the younger. When Jesus is telling us to take His yoke and learn from Him that is the picture of what He is telling us.  Come on, let me show you how to do this life.  He is our example of how we should live as men.  He didn't come to put more burdens or heavy loads on our already taxed lives, He came to show us a better way.

I don't mean to say that He came to show us how to be lazy, because all throughout Scripture the Lord tells us that we are to work and provide for the needs of our families, but we can learn from the examples that Jesus left us in the Bible as to how we can fulfill all that is required of us and still find enjoyment as well. One of the things that I absolutely love about Jesus in the Scriptures is that He never got too busy to spend time with His Father in prayer.  Time and again you see Him going to a solitary place by Himself and praying.  That should really be our first clue to a satisfied life.

Jesus was able to accomplish all that He did because His priorities were in the right place. How about yours?  Do you spend time with the Father every day? Or is your prayer life more like based on when you need something from Him? I have found that a time of being in the Bible daily, and talking with God on a regular basis is the most important thing in my life.  Does that mean that this keeps me from making mistakes?  Not really, but I wonder how many more mistakes I'd make if I wasn't doing this.

To bottom line this for you men, it's tough at times to meet all the needs that we have, but it is going to be even tougher if you aren't spending quality time with God every day.  So get out of bed thirty minutes earlier than usual and spend some time with Him and in the Bible each day and see if your world doesn't begin to get just a little bit better.

Strength and honor for the Kingdom and the King!