Panem 'et Circenses

Since I often have songs playing on repeat that feed my soul, this one by Lauren Daigle "O Lord" has been talking to me this morning:

"Your strength is found
At the end of my road
Your grace it reaches to the hurting
Still through the tears and the questioning why
I will stand my ground where hope can be found!
I will stand my ground where hope can be found!

Oh, O'Lord O'Lord I know You hear my cry
Your love is lifting me above all the lies
No matter what I face This I know in time
You'll take all that is wrong and make it right"

One thing I've realized about our journey is that God is not doing anything 'special' for us that He doesn't want to also do for you. I think the difference is we have had all pretenses of our own abilities and strength stripped away and in its place, a spotlight or magnifying glass has appeared. Honestly, we are no more capable of fighting the battles in our daily grind and are truly just as dependent on God normally as we are when it's life & death-the difference is now, our self-imposed scales which have blinded us into believing we control more than we actually do have vanished. God wants us to be just as dependent for his healing, his protection, his provision, his joy on a typical Thursday morning as we are this morning in the hospital room. The location, the details, the outward appearances of our life shouldn't dictate and control our response to God's calling-and yet it so often does. It's easy to be deceived and not realize our genuine need for God on an average Thursday morning. Levi Lusko refers to this as "Panem et Circenses" (Bread & Circuses). The basic premise is that as long as Satan can keep our basic needs met and keep us entertained, we won't notice he's actually stealing our freedom.

My prayer for you is to slow down a bit this morning and look around. Are you living through a "Panem et Circenses" and relying too much on the lie of your own abilities or are you fully aware of your real need for God-even in the Thursday morning daily grind?

https://youtu.be/K42bvpgimTg

Beth Armstrong