Most people relate to God the majority of the time in 2 ways.
1) To thank him for extraordinary blessings. (Think winning the Super Bowl.)
2) To beg God to change unwanted circumstances. (Think my rent bill is due tomorrow and I just overdrew my bank account!)
In moments of great happiness, we might thank God; in moments of great peril or stress we might request God's aid. In between, there is the absence of any real relationship or communication with God. When we are happy we thank him, when we are not we curse him, in between we don't miss him.
This type of relationship is never something God intended for us. It reveals that we are treating God as an aid or a tool to get what we want. You don't have a relationship with your hammer or credit card, yet we attempt to use God in a similar way. God becomes our servant we tell him what to do, thank him when he does it, and grow angry and bitter when he doesn't...
God created us, sent Jesus to redeem us from our sin, and sent the Holy Spirit so we could experience the life-giving grace of a relationship with Him. If your relationship with God's feels empty and lifeless, if there is an absence of joy when you try to worship and pray, if the very idea of a relationship with God seems like a great idea but in reality is a foreign experience, you are not experiencing the beauty of walking in a relationship God.
God created us, sent Jesus to redeem us from our sin, and sent the Holy Spirit so we could experience the life-giving grace of a relationship with Him. If your relationship with God's feels empty and lifeless, if there is an absence of joy when you try to worship and pray, if the very idea of a relationship with God seems like a great idea but in reality is a foreign experience, you are not experiencing the beauty of walking in a relationship God.
Our anger, frustration, skepticism, and bitterness towards God develops because we have abandoned the possibility of a genuine daily walk with a loving, sovereign God. We know people or hear of Bible characters who have or had amazing relationships or experiences with God and wish we could be like them. Yet, we find despite our best (or worse) efforts that we still end up getting angry, discouraged, and going through the monotony of another lifeless week. You go to sleep or wake up hoping that today might be the day it all changes but secretly knowing it won't.
The good news if you have arrived at this realization that your own best efforts have not brought a genuine and life-giving relationship with God, you are actually on the doorstep of breakthrough.
Personally, I need grace to not get mad at my wife. I need grace not to yell at my children. I need grace to stay focused at work. I need grace to keep pushing forward through life. These are things that don’t just come naturally to me. When circumstances start to turn against my will, when my ideal for the day, meeting, or family time is not going according to plan, then something in me can begin to either curse God or others. A frustration, anger, or deep bitterness begins to surface in my thoughts that moments ago I did not know existed. I feel like slamming doors, smashing walls, breaking down, swearing, or worse.
If I am honest, that is how I often react when life is not ideal. Admitting my own inability (in other words my need for grace) is the first step according to Jesus in learning to walk in a real relationship with God. Acknowledging it is my own sin and selfish view of God that has caused a separation in our relationship.
However, this step is only the first step. Jesus told a parable in Mark 4 about sees that fall on different types of soil. The soil represents different types of people who have each reached that first step of acknowledging their need for Jesus' forgiveness and a new life where walking daily with God is a reality. Yet, Satan's lies, hardship, the worries of life, and the desires for riches, success, and relationships choke out their faith. It is only the seed that goes beyond the first step and learns to react when life is NOT ideal that grows into person that knows the fullness of life of walking with God.
Many of us many not know what these vital next steps are. The Christmas story found in Matthew 1 & 2 and Luke 1 reveals 7 key steps we can take.
Mary's Story
Upon hearing news the Angel delivers to her that (despite the fact that she has never slept with a man) she is about to have a baby, become a single mother, and be in danger of being sentenced to death for adultery, Mary shows us how to respond when life is not ideal.
Troubled by evil or hardship, questioning why some evil has happened, frustrated by life circumstances? Here's how Mary responded.
1) Seek to discern what God is doing in the midst of it. (Luke 1:29)
2) View YOURSELF as God's servant NOT God as your servant. (Luke 1:34, 38)
3) Pray for God's will to be done. (Luke 1:38)
4) Seek counsel from mature believers in Jesus (Luke 1:39-40)
5) Praise and thank God even when you feel like begging and cursing Him. (Luke 1:46)
Joseph's Story
While Mary is left alone to figure out much on her own, God speaks more directly to Joseph. Has God given you a dream of what you can do, has God spoken to you through the Bible.
6) Consider what actions to take, but remain flexible if God changes your direction. (Matthew 1:20, 24)
7) Stay where God has led you but obey immediately if he tells you to go. (Matthew 2:14)
Nike was right sometimes the best step is to face your fears and doubts and "Just do it!"
The key to walking by faith is learning to respond to hardship, disappointment, and pain by admitting your own inability, wrong thinking, and sin AND learning to trust in God's sovereignity, power, and love for you. Jesus died not just to forgive your sin but to make possible a daily walk with God even when life is not ideal. Next time you feel yourself spinning downward these steps will help you confront your wrong thinking and put your trust in Jesus. He's your only hope.
I am learning with you. My prayer so often is, "Jesus, I don't know what your doing and this really hurts right now, but I am your servant let your kingdom come and will be done in my life. I praise you because your God and you love me. You have everything in control. Help me seek out wise counsel and obey you immediately even when I don't want to. Help me in my weakness." The amazing thing is he always come through just not always in my timing.
“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised
to those who love him.”
~ James 1:12~
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