Secure the best deal possible. 3 hours? 6 hours? 30 minutes? How much time will you spend on your computer today in your quest to snag just the item you’ve been looking for at the right price? I challenge you to set a timer and tabulate the total number of minutes you spend cyber surfing today. Will your surfing result in a purchase?

Retailers are betting that you’ll not only spend time but also spend money online today.

Cyber Monday, the Monday following Thanksgiving is known as the biggest online shopping day of the year. With projected sales of $2.6 Billion for 2014, retailers hold hope that you will partake in helping them reach their annual sales goals.

I too may have been joining most in their quest to secure the best deals online. My oldest daughter who generally doesn’t ask for much in terms of clothes has requested items from a retailer that sells trendy tween girls clothes. Normally we don’t make such indulgences but I’ve consented to purchasing an item or two that will keep in line with our style, budget and family values. So I would have been visiting their website if…it weren’t for the tumultuous state of affairs in the United States right now. If the land of the free and the home of the brave were truly a place where ALL men were created equal. If young men and women of color were not senseless slaughtered. If…

So as a result, my family has decided to refrain from spending for at least the next week and reassess from there.

As my eye caught sight of a piece of mail from the retailer my daughter wants the clothes from, I thought for a millisecond, “I should just go ahead and buy the stuff anyway to save us some money because the clothes at regular price are so expensive”.

No one would see. No one would know except me if I had broken the agreement I had made with my family and myself.

For all that is secret will eventually be brought into the open, and everything that is concealed will be brought to light and made known to all. Luke 8:17

Had I made the purchase, no one may have ever known but I would have known. And the Father would have known. And by God’s grace, just as quickly as the thought arose, it left.

Whatever is done in the dark eventually comes to light.

But more than scoring a good deal on Cyber Monday, I long to walk upright before the Lord; holding fast to the truth of His word and living a life that is in alignment with His character. And when you walk upright before Him, there may be times you feel alone on the arduous journey of faith.

No one is watching when you:

~Brush your elderly grandmother’s hair and sing to her as she suffers from dementia

~Change diapers on your 6^th baby. In fact you’ve been changing diapers for 11 consecutive years

~Toil in the wee hours of the morning, writing your vision and making it plain on tablets

~Pay your sister’s mortgage again so she and your nieces and nephews don’t lose their home

~Open your home to a friend of a friend because she’s young and had a baby out of wedlock and everyone else has turned their backs on her

~Leave home at 6:00am to work all day then go to school in the evening then go to another job after class and work the 3^rd job on the weekend in an effort to make life a little better than the one you grew up in

But when no one is watching, Jesus is watching.

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

2 Chronicles 16:9a

He sees YOU, the one fully committed to Him, diligently seeking to live a life worthy of being called by His name: A Christian in{deed}.

Not only does He see but also His ear is attentive to your cry.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer.

1 Peter 3:12

And not only does He see and hear, He wants to DO something about it. He wants to strengthen you. He wants to fortify you. He wants to build you up on all sides. And He wants to reward you.

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.

Matthew 6:6

The assurance that my God sees me, hears me and acts on my behalf is good news; far better than any deal I can score on Cyber Monday. Be inspired my friends that He sees you too. Every seed you’ve sown for righteousness hasn’t gone unnoticed and will reap a harvest in due season.

Needless to say, I won’t be scoring any online deals today. But I find comfort and reassurance in knowing I’ve scored the best deal ever, an everlasting relationship with the King!

As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully.