Seth Barnes - How to break free of a faith in Too Much

We cram our lives so full and then suffer with heartburn.

The Problem

A couple of generations ago the problem families faced was putting food on the table. Now we have the problem of too much food. We live in a society where our biggest problem is the problem of too much.

What are we to do?

First we have to see the world as it is: we are swimming in toxins - too much food has resulted in a diabetes epidemic, too many drugs and we have an addiction crisis.

Too much social media and we don't have the capacity to self-govern. In its place is an addiction to pornography.

Too much noise, and we can't hear ourselves think, much less God's voice.

Too much stuff crowding our homes and garages. And the bottom line is that we are missing out on the simple things that make life enjoyable - a walk in the park. A quiet evening with people we love.

The Solution

We need to push the stop button and find a way to start over. Stop the social media addictions, the noisy living. We need to take the time and space to rediscover the simplicity of life as God intended it to be lived. We need to leave the noise and stuff that crowds our lives.

How do we do that?

We see in the Bible that God understands that his people didn't like the change that simple living required - they liked to stay in their comfortable places. Over and over again he called them out of their comfort zones and out on journeys to recalibrate their dependence on him.

All the patriarchs and heroes of the Bible went on kingdom journeys that helped them learn how to depend on God. Abraham took his whole family on one. Moses led an entire nation on one.

Jesus was born on a pilgrimage and led his disciples on a three year kingdom journey. Paul founded the church on a series of journeys.

The problem is that we've lost this practice of journeying as a way to to take stock and find alignment. God gave us a spiritual discipline to recalibrate when his people lose their way in life - it's the discipline of a kingdom journey.

I'm leaving on one this Friday. A hike of the Camino of Santiago. I'll be accompanied by seven other guys. And as we hike, we'll talk about our lives and our next steps in life if we are to end well.

I've found that demasiado is always seeping into my life. Without a kingdom journey from time to time, my spirit withers. To get back into alignment with God's design for my life, I need a journey - a leaving of the normal and a space to think and hear from him.

How about you? Does your life look like the chipmunk in the picture above? Why not consider a kingdom journey that has the potential to activate you to the life God intended for you to live?