Have you ever wanted something so badly that you were
willing to do just about anything to get it? Have you had "that
thing" within your reach only to have it disappear just as quickly as it appeared,
leaving you feeling stupid, dejected and questioning all the "work"
it took to get "that thing"? I often teach that what we actively
pursue will be the very thing that will cause our demise...and demise I mean
what we will allow to interfere with our relationship with Christ.
Let me start by saying this...I try to read and reflect on at least two daily devotional;
my personal favorite is by Oswald Chambers. I read My Utmost for His Highest on
a regular basis: I've actually read it several times and each time I read it
more is revealed. Today's reading was about making room for God.
He paraphrases Galatians 1: 15 by over simplifying the
passage a bit by shortening " When
it pleased God…" but you'll get the gist as you read further.
Oswald's introduction to his piece totally relates to my
questions:
As servants of God, we must learn to make room for Him— to
give God “elbow room.” We plan and figure and predict that this or that will
happen, but we forget to make room for God to come in as He chooses. Would we
be surprised if God came into our meeting or into our preaching in a way we had
never expected Him to come? Do not look for God to come in a particular way,
but do look for Him. The way to make room for Him is to expect Him to
come, but not in a certain way. No matter how well we may know God, the great
lesson to learn is that He may break in at any minute. We tend to overlook this
element of surprise, yet God never works in any other way. Suddenly—God meets
our life “…when it pleased God….”
We all want what we want when we want it...now and not later.
When things don't happen the way we have mapped out and scripted in our minds,
we tend to ask, "When, God, when?" Like we can really rush God! We
need to grow in the area of trusting God instead of focusing on the "how
and when?" If joy and peace are missing from your life you're not trusting God: plain and simple. If
you're mentally overtaxed and you're beat up by stress and worry, you're not
trusting God.
Our tendency to play God, wanting to be in His business can
be detrimental to your Christian walk. Sometimes knowing too many details can
be detrimental. I continue to struggle with impatience frustration and
disappointment because I was like Sergeant Joe Friday , wanting the facts . God
had to teach me to leave things alone and quit feeling that I needed to know
everything. I had to learn to trust God, who knows all things and accept that some questions
may never be answered; I still struggle with this from time to time but I've
come to know that we our relationship with God and His revelation to us comes
alive when we refuse to worry.
REAL TALK - This push me-pull you relationship, tension,
dynamic (whatever you want to call it) only serves to demonstrate the true
power of Christ. We have free will and free reign to make decisions but when we
develop a genuine relationship with Christ ...we can ask, wait and then look at
the situation and say "Nobody or Nothing but God could have made this
happen!"
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