Too Many Tabs, Indeed Only One
I was on a zoom call a few days ago (original, right). While I was speaking and referring to something, I searched for the document which provided the explanation that my memory failed to recall. I searched and searched but to no avail, I couldn't find the information I was seeking. I had no less than 20 tabs open. With each click, I disappointed myself. I finally shared the "I'll send it to you after this call," because I was too embarrassed to continue with the facade. Over the course of any given week, I maintain information on my laptop or desktop by keeping the tabs in what I presume as "accessible," yet because I collect so many, it's actually more difficult to find. Perhaps I would be better served to only search for the information as I need it rather than passively remaining connected, only to find that I am operating ineffectively. Now, this started as a simple multitasking solution (or so I thought) but it taught me an aged old lesson of attempting to focus on more than one thing - or in the realm of faith, attempting to focus beyond God.
Whoever invented the concept of tabs deserves a gold star. They are rooted in efficiency, but perhaps in a time limited capacity. I'm not certain the developer envisioned someone like me, who believes in collecting tabs like aluminum cans over the course of a day and then multiplying as the workweek ensues. Be it "tabs" associated with work, or "tabs" associated with worry, anxiety and concerns, God's intentions implore us to remain focused on Him, the author and finisher of our faith as opposed to the concerns that we should have casted upon Him anyway. In Luke 14:41-42, the passage reads, "Martha, Martha, the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed - or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her." When I've failed to focus on God, I am embodying the characteristics of Martha, tending to the tabs of life, forgetting about the One present in my home, where I can sit at His feet and be comforted about all that is occurring around and about me. While tabs enable us to jump from one idea to the next, without operating through the Creator, we will find ourselves lost, uncertain and confused, just as I was on that zoom a few days ago.
God is not the author of confusion; and while everything may not fit neatly together in the manner by which we believe, we must hold to the fact that God has the ability to ensure that everything will align and God will empower us to transition from one situation, one person, one difficulty to the next as we remain focused upon Him - who will not be taken away! It doesn't matter how overwhelming life presents, Jesus remains tangible, accessible, within reach and available. You don't have to save Him as a tab to ensure that you may find Him again. I've been employing the practice (if we call it that) of "saving tabs" for a minute. One of the most disappointing actions is an update on my computer and when I've failed to click the option that reads, "open all tabs again" after a restart is enacted. I've found myself searching and attempting to recall exactly what I'd had open. Talk about an action in futility. I've not been successful in reconnecting to that which I truly wasn't connected to in the first place. I'd been engaged through my "tab ministry" only passively. Yet when we engage in the One, for one situation, one encounter, one problem, one victory at a time, we find our energy, clarity and assurance to be seamless. Saints, we cannot treat our relationship with God like something we can pick up and locate when we need, or keep God on hold until we elect a connection. God doesn't desire for us to switch back and forth between Him and whatever else we have taking up real estate in our hearts and minds. We've got to treat Him like the screensaver He is - always abounding in the forefront of our lives and all we encounter.