Is it time to unsubcribe?

This week I realized my personal email inbox had become a place where emails go to die, and it was high time for some spring cleaning.  It felt cluttered, confusing and overwhelming every time I opened it, so I typically would just select all and delete because I just am not one of those people who can look at an inbox number of 19,667 and feel ok about my life.

(Are you one of those people? Do you feel ok about your life? Hehe jk.)

Even with a quick scan before my mass deletion tactic, I would miss important emails and have to dig back through the trash folder to find them. My overloaded inbox not only distracted me from important emails, it also led me to stumble. 

Yes, J. Crew, I will add to cart. Gosh, News Channel, thank you for showing me I actually should be way more anxious about the headline you’re over-hyping. Gee, Mommy Blogger, thank you for the reminder you’re a better mom than me.

This week, I finally had enough, and I realized it was time to get to the root of the issue: I was subscribed to too many things, and they were distracting me. 

It was time to unsubscribe.

Some felt really good to unsubscribe from while some felt a little more awkward, and in these instances, my Fear of Man looked me straight in the face. In the “We hate to see you go! Why are you leaving?” message box of one local store in particular, I wrote, “I love your emails! I just need to clean out my inbox.” 

Wow Mary Clay. What an inflated view of self to think they actually care.

They might care though?! Speaking only for myself, I personally cannot fathom to look at who unsubscribes from what you’re reading right now, so how’s that for irony? I did look one time, and now when I see that person, I want to ask, “Why?” but really, she might just have too many emails! Or I might not be her cup of tea. And that’s ok. Her reasoning really isn’t my concern, but humans gonna human. 

In these trickier instances of unsubscribing where I wondered if I was hurting feelings, I remembered the words of my mentor, “You don’t make boundaries to take care of people’s feelings.”

These unsubscriptions were to keep me from being distracted from important things and to keep me from stumbling. I might have offended someone, but I had to do it.

In all this click-happy unsubscription, God really had me thinking: What do I need to unsubscribe from in my life right now? What habits or places or people or things are causing clutter, confusion, distraction, stumbling? In sum, what’s causing me to miss out on God’s best? 

Man that’s a loaded question, isn’t it? While He’s still working on my heart and the real-life personal things that are a little harder to remove than through the click of a button, I hope this question gets you thinking about what Satan might be using to sway you from God’s best. 

Is it:

The 24-hour news cycle, woke “theology”, far right “theology”, obsessing over your diet/workout du jour, seeking impossible approval, idolizing isolation, judgy social media scrolling, comfort/ease chasing, your hangovers, pornography, your social club, “the joneses”, your unhealthy shopping habits…

Let’s take a minute and ask God in His lovingkindness to reveal what’s tripping us up and to gift us the heart to receive the Holy Spirit’s convictions.

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What comes to mind for you? How does it feel to let one (some) of those things go? What steps can you take to start loosening the chains this has on your heart?

Will there be suffering? Absolutely. Will there be gain? So much more than any suffering. 

1 Peter 4:1-5 (I very much realize our eyes want to skip the scripture - don’t skip it ;)

So then since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer too. For it you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy – their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols. 

Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. But remember that they will have to face God, who will judge everyone, both the living and the dead.

Bearing in mind we will never, ever fully stop sinning, we can be “finished with it” this side of heaven. We can be fed up with it, ready to take action against it daily by stepping into the freedom we have in Christ to choose life-giving habits. Do you feel finished with sin? What have you had enough of?

Analogous to my silly email unsubscription fear of man, how cool and grounding to know Peter addresses one of our (my) deepest fears concerning what others will think of us as we start to drop old habits: Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you.

Are you scared of what people will think of you? Are you scared of what hole the habit you’re convicted to remove has been filling? 

Same. But God isn’t.

And guess what this is called? 

Suffering for Christ. Walking in His will for your life. And what does that yield? FRUIT. 

He will fill your holes because he’s the only one who can!

Father God, will you reveal the ways we make our hearts restless? Will you help us remove them please? You long for us to rest in your best. Sometimes it’s so hard, and we get distracted and we stumble. We get insecure and we seek someone/something/somewhere to fill our holes. It’s You though Lord. You’re the only one who can. Will you please ready our hearts to do your will and unsubscribe from whatever is hindering us from walking with You? Will you do it swiftly and give us the strength to obey even when it gets hard? Please remind us the gain of suffering for you and how much more it will yield both in heaven and on earth! In Jesus name I pray, Amen.

S/M: 1 Peter 4:1

What do you think it means to be finished with sin?

T: 1 Peter 4:2

What desires of your own have you been chasing to no avail?

W: 1 Peter 4:3

What evil things have you had enough of? What idols do you need to lay down?

Th: 1 Peter 4:4

Are you scared friends will slander you? Are they really even your friends then? What makes a good friend?

F: 1 Peter 4:5

Do you fear Man or God more?

S: 1 Peter 4:1-5

What distraction and/or stumbling block have you had enough of? Lay it down!