Have you ever down and wondered why life just does not work out sometimes? Have you ever questioned God and asked Him why you had to go through the suffering or experience you did or why something you wanted ended up in total chaos?
Me, too.
In fact, we all have. To say you have never questioned if God was real or if His plan for your life was actually good would be similar to a athlete questioning their coach if his or her workout plan is actually beneficial or if the purpose is only to inflict pain and injury.
Often times, I find myself questioning if God's plan is actually good--if in the end it will all be worth it--if the pain will be worth it. Looking back on life, I would not hesitate to say yes--it was all worth it. If I did not see the reward and strength I acquired from those experiences, then I would not be sitting here blogging today and you would not be reading my thoughts.
ALL Christians debate God's WILL for their lives. We know the Bible mentions our hearts and nature are controlled by God, as stated in Psalm 115:3, Psalm 135:6, and Proverbs 21:1. We KNOW God is in control, but do we actually feel it?
Often, we mistake God's WILL as a desire for something we think WILL happen verses knowing God is in control so it WILL happen as He sees fit.
Control is something we struggle with a human beings. We desire taking the wheel and going where we think is best, despite knowing God knows everything. Sometimes, we get caught up in the thought that God is too busy to help us, so we carry mountains of things that were only meant for God's shoulders and for us to climb.
Even Satan knew of this deep desire for control. He knew he could tempt Eve with the thought of knowing good and evil in order to have control over her own life. We want control. God reveals Himself through nature and the Word, but Satan twists how we perceive those two things and convinces us with outstanding arguments that God is not _______ (whatever we are doubting).
Karl Geary said in the talk, "God's Will for Your Life,"
“Rebellion against God is rebellion against goodness itself.”
As humans, we put on masks. We pretend everything is okay. As a Christian, I myself have put on a smile and "faked it till I made it." I told people I was trusting in the Lord with specific things and for His plans in my life, but inside I was fearful. Outwardly I would confess that God would supply for me, but inwardly I was still trying to convince myself of the words I just spoke to someone else.
It was inauthentic faith. Instead of practicing my faith, the Lord showed me I was practicing my doubt. Let us be honest, we do not have faith a lot of time. Instead of faking faith, I needed to become honest with God. He wants us to talk with Him and He already knows what we have to say, all we have to do is open our mouths.
Authentic faith is trusting in things we cannot see. It's not just believing in God, but BELIEVING HIM (AND HIS WORDS). We must believe Him to believe in His works.
So, the question is...
Do you not only trust God's power, but do you trust His love?
God's WILL will happen.
Chances are, if we had met the Pharisees and if they were living right now, we would feel guilty (the Church) for trash talking them so much because in our eyes they would look like the perfect Christians. ARE WE NOT PRETENDING LIKE WE ARE PERFECT? Do we not pretend as much as the Pharisees and sometimes MISS THE MARK and what God ACTUALLY HAS IN STORE FOR US?
Last week, a staff member spoke chapter 8 of Romans from memory. I looked around the room and realized only a few students were watching him, while the rest were looking down at their Bibles. IS THIS NOT LIKE THE CHURCH TODAY? Only a small percentage of believers will see God's miracles and experience His wondrous love because the rest are too busy doing other things in His name and so wrapped up in living a perfect life to even LOOK UP AND SEE HIS POWER. No, this staff member is not God, but that moment, in my eyes, made me recognize how blind some of us are--how arrogant we are to think we can read or live out the Bible better than anyone else to even look up and sit in awe of who God is.
Max Lucado once said,
And it also makes me smile to think there is a grinning ex-con walking the golden streets who knows more about grace than a thousand theologians. No one else would have given him a prayer. But in the end that is all he had. And in the end, that is all it took.
It blows my mind to realize God is more concerned with what we are doing, than what we achieve. Many Christians will have huge testimonies and will have saved thousands of others, but there will be saints among them in Heaven who did not save one other person, but loved unconditionally and like Jesus did. So, do you treasure Him? What are you pursuing? What do you delight in, daydream about, long for, or ask God for?
God wants you to have those things, but if those things are what you desire over God, do they even matter?
Psalm 27:4 speaks to this. In order to pursue God, we must remember the gospel every day and the miracle that takes place (2 Peter 3:9, Hebrews 12).
Once your eyes are set on God, how will God work?
Sorry to break it to you, but you are not that important. Psalm 103 speaks to this. You will become dirt when you die.
Therefore, we must remember God is God. We are small and He is large.
John the Baptist was questioned about how he felt about Jesus baptizing people and "taking away his business." He responded, "He must increase and I must decrease. Therefore my joy is complete."
God's love is not a ditch where He is waiting for us to fall off on either side of. It is a valley where we are taking little steps in the right direction trusting that God will show us the way.
Karl dove in Matthew 25 that talks about the master who entrusted his servants with a sum of money. One of the three doubled the money because he had faith. Karl then said, "Make sure we're faithful in the small decisions now and God MIGHT entrust you with more in the future."
We may never be entrusted with anything more, but we must trust everything to Him. We must know what God wants and how He works through reading the Bible and seeing what He says.
Psalm 37:4 talks about delighting in the Lord. We must pursue Him by examining our desires and having a heart after the Lord. We must not only examine our desires, but our abilities and opportunities as well. God gifted us with abilities and moments to use for His glory. We must be faithful with what we have now.
All in all, "If you can't walk a direction do not try going there."