He seems to always be our last resort.

Psalm 46:1

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

When you boil down our humanity, what is it that man is looking for ALL the time? Think about it, we look for shelter and we look for a way to feel stronger than we really are, that's about it. I like the way Tony Robbins (the famous motivation speaker) puts it: "we are always looking for ways to get out of pain and into pleasure." In my opinion, that's right on target!

What is our pain? How do we get out of it? There are always resting places we can manufacture. There is a the resting place in a good bottle of vodka. Maybe our resting place is cocaine, work or sex, etc. Our refuge, is whatever takes our minds away from the pain we are experiencing. But there is something in common with all these drugs of choice; it's always a temporary fix, a temporary high and in the end, we always crash back to reality.

So this verse says "God is our refuge and strength"... I think EVERYBODY actually knows this. Why do I say this? Well, when we get in trouble and we have exhausted every refuge we can think of and we are at the end of our wits, what do we usually say? "Oh God!!!" Isn't it funny how we call him when we have exhausted all our self made options and when we have no where else to turn, we cry out for him?

What if we just went to him in the first place? What if when trouble came, we said, "God, this is too much for me, this is beyond my capacity to fix! Help me!" It sounds too easy, it may even sound stupid and ineffective, perhaps "religious"... yet, HE seems to always be our last resort. However, God allows these afflictions on us so that we learn to turn to him.

Ultimately it is our choice to choose when to turn to Him. We can prolong the pain as long as we can stand it or we can call on Him who is always ready to help in the time of need.

When you dislike yourself, how will you treat others?

Colossians 3:15
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Imagine your body in war with itself. You wake up one day and your hand hates your face. What a mess would that be!

Now think of what happens every single day. The "body of Christ" is at war with itself. The "hands and feet" of God not working together towards a common goal but rather working against each other. This is the reality we live in today.

The ridiculous notion of waking up with the scenario of your hand hating your face but this is reality for the "Body of Christ" and "religion" for that matter. We've lost touch with the simplicity of faith. We have mixed in so much human drama into the church that being a part of it is often unattractive and down right offensive to A LOT of people.

I recall Jesus' words that should resonate to most of the people that are turned off by the "church" - when asked what is the greatest commandment (Matthew 22:36-40 Jesus replied:

“‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

That's it! The ENTIRE law are based on these two commandments! I think that even most "none religious" people will agree with the first commandment. Even if your sense of "God" is not based on the God of the Bible, you would still agree with the command and its importance.

The second command (which is EQUALLY important) would get the nod from all kinds of people. People of all faiths and even unbelievers. It is just common sense that you treat others as you would like to be treated.

So what's my point of this message? I've been pondering that for a couple of days. Wrestling with "Love your neighbor as yourself." - why is that so hard some times? If I analyze the command I realize that if you truly comply with it then you would never steal, covet, slander, kill, etc.

So why do I continue to do these things when the command seems so simple and clear? I believe I found the answer.

We don't love ourselves! I don't mean in a selfish, arrogant and prideful sense. We don't love who we are. In a sense, we are not "meek" as Jesus said in Matthew 5:5 (Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth).

Meekness is grossly misunderstood, as it sounds like weakness. But the word is really closer to humility. It is the virtue that makes you feel satisfied and comfortable with who you are, no less, no more.

But we live in a world that is bombarding us with messages that encourage the exact opposite. Every advertisement sends your spirit and soul encouragement for you to unsatisfied with yourself. We constantly hear that there is a particular reason why you should not love yourself. You must buy this or that to feel complete. How could you love yourself if you are not driving that new convertible? How could you love yourself if you don't have this makeup? You are too fat and you should loose weight! You are too flabby, you need better abs! On and on and on... YOU SHOULD NOT LOVE YOURSELF AS YOU ARE, YOU CAN BE BETTER!

So as you realize the constant onslaught of these messages, it may be clear how the second commandment is nearly impossible to comply with. When you dislike yourself, how will you treat others?

That might sound like a really harsh or unfair question. You might not want to admit that you dislike or even hate yourself. But go to a quiet space and meditate on your actions, your motives and what drives you on a daily basis. Think of specific times you have been driven by the negative force of self deprecation, self chastisement or even self criticism. Considering this, there is a high chance that you have loved your neighbor as you love yourself, which is unfortunately, very little.