I’ve always been a packrat. I admit it. You’d think as many times as I moved in my first quarter century of life that I would’ve learned to pack light. But I have troubleletting go of things that I might possibly need somewhere down the road. I’m not a hoarder (I recently took a Suburban-load of books to the public library’s book sale and another of general stuff to the Salvation Army); but I am definitely a packrat. And it’s especially true with things I could use for ministry. Beyond bookshelves overflowing with books, I’ve had stacks and folders full of articles I’ve cut out to use as illustrations and sermon prep. But I’ve never been able to find what I’ve needed when I needed it. I’d try to clean out stuff and think, “Oh man, that would’ve been perfect for that sermon on faithfulness, or that lesson on Job!” But it was useless. Until now, that is.
I’ve recently discovered Evernote. If you’re not a tech person, hang with me for a second, because this really isn’t about the tech. Trying to describe Evernote in 25 words or less is hard, but imagine an almost infinitely large filing cabinet you can use to store EVERYTHING—articles, pictures, handwritten notes of thoughts and ideas, contacts, videos, audio recordings, important documents, you name it—digitally AND tag and cross reference it so you can find it quickly and easily on your computer, tablet or phone. Any time, any place. And even add reminders to a note so you don’t forget. It’s changing my life—I’ve eliminated stacks of disorganized paper and indexed the information so I can find it and have access to it wherever I am. I’ve gotten so excited about it that I’ve gone full-blown nerd, staying up until the wee hours of the morning watching webinars and YouTube videos that show you how to use its features. And it’s helped me so much I’m trying to get my daughter to use it at college, my wife to use it in her classroom, and anyone else I can find to use it in their daily life because it’s just that great. Not to mention that it’s free (though there is a premium level for extra features). It just takes a little bit of effort.
But here’s the thing: I’ve had this on my phone and my computer and my iPad for about two years, and until a month ago it just sat there—taking up space and pretty much useless to me. I had this incredible, life-altering thing right at my fingertips, and it did me absolutely no good. I thought it would be too hard to use. I thought it wouldn’t benefit me that much. And even though I wouldn’t delete it, I only put something in it once in a while at best. What a waste! Now I’m wishing I had been using it for years—my office would look neater and my ministry could’ve been enhanced. It was right there for me, but I didn’t use it.
How often do we treat God and His word the same way? How often do we go about our business, doing things our own way, hardly thinking about God or what He wants for our life until we need something? Then we access Him long enough to ask for what we want, and put Him back on the shelf when we’re done with Him. Oh, we go to church; we give an offering, but our life isn’t much different because of it.
God makes so much available to us—power and comfort through His Holy Spirit; joy and peace and purpose if we follow His way of living; and the ability to have an ongoing, close relationship with Him that will radically change our lives. And we leave it on the shelf gathering dust. We think it’s too hard; or we think we won’t be as happy as we are when we’re doing things our way. It’s why we don’t get involved deeply with His church; it’s why we don’t give generously; it’s why we prioritize other things over the things of God. And we’re missing out on an incredible life that’s right there at our fingertips. And I believe God sits on His throne and agonizes over all He wants to do in our lives that we just won’t let Him; and how much better our lives could be, but won’t because of our choices. And not only would our lives be better, but we’d be more excited about telling others about the difference Christ can make in their lives because we’d be experiencing it in all its fullness.
I want to be as excited about Christ as I’ve gotten about Evernote. I want to see the kinds of improvements to my life because of my walk with Christ that I’ve seen in my office because of this app. And I realize the more clutter I start with, the more it takes to get the results I’m looking for. But it’s right there for me. It’s just up to me to trust Him that it’s worth it. And the best part is it’s free—in fact, there’s no “premium” level I have to pay to access—it just takes a little bit of effort and commitment. Not much to ask for something that can revolutionize my life—both now and for eternity.