Scripture Reading
Not too long ago I was attending a customer in the place I work. She was picking up a photo order and the mother told her little daughter that such and such an amount of money has to be paid. The little girl figuring the amount up in her head came up with an answer to her addition and blurted it out. The mother said told her that sum was incorrect, and the girl blurted out, THAT'S NOT THE WAY IT WORKS IN MY WORLD!!! Just like the cartoon here. We all want things our own way. That's funny to think about, that is, until we look in the mirror and face up to the way we talk to God when we want our own way or something that He cannot out of His character do.
Coming to God in prayer and petition must be understood in three areas.
First of all, God dictates what God desires, we do not.
We are just privileged that the Sovereign God of all that is would even listen to us small creatures. To come to Him and start telling Him what needs to be done in our lives or in someone else's life must go out the window! God is by no means hindered without our help. Is this to say that He does not desire to hear our heart and even our complaints? No it does not. However, we must understand that this is GOD we're talking to! The same God that formed all that exists in every micro detail is the same identical God who gives you an audience. So many people in today's world view God as a common personage. Thankfully He sent His Son Jesus to dwell with us and in our flesh, but we must respect His Deity and Sovereignty. It is His world we live in and we go with what He says, because what He says is precisely what is going to happen no matter what.
Secondly, God desires our requests to be of His heart and not of this world. Simply put, our "world" is to wrapped up in His plan. We come to the greatest impass when we try to box in God by human limitations. We wonder why He doesn't give us this or allow that. Do we realize when we come to Him, we are to forsake all the old stuff that used to be our habits and lifestyles and come to Him with His purposes in mind. This must be the hardest yet most necessary lesson for us to learn. The Christian life is all about stripping off the old caked layers of this life and putting on a whole new mind and heart as Christ has. Consider framing your conversations with Him to be willing to have Him be glorified rather than us. When we seek His heart in the matters we are engaged in, He will act on our behalf and tailor His solution to fit our circumstances. To ask God to do anything that is laced with worldly desires would be like asking your earthly father to do something that would be vile and totally against all his morals and principles.
Thirdly, God is interested more in the world ahead of you than the world beneath you. When we draw away from God we retreat in our world where we somehow think that all that we plan or strive for is right and without fault. If left to our own perception and sight, its hard to tell where we would be. One thing is most sure, it wouldn't be God's best and it very well could be disastrous. God however interrupts our little plans and little world by showing up with a plan that is far more forward in sight and design. So many people, people you know and work with can only seem to see the weekend or what they will do tomorrow. God on the other hand looks at a person life as one would a panoramic photograph. He scans it left to right, end to end to see the whole picture and enact what is best for us. The Apostle Paul reminds us 1 Corinthians 15:13, If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable." In other words, should Christ let us go our own way, doing our own thing, never caring to readjust the course of our lives to the better He sees ahead, He would be the most cruel and uncaring Being ever known. But God does act in our behalf, He is working in us for something better, not just something immediate. To act or pray according to the dictations of this world is so faulty and useless that God is not moved to hand us what we sometimes want. He knows it can be junk and without lasting value. That is why He sent His Son into the world to die, so that we might have a better life than what is detailed down here on Earth and certainly better than the dungeon of Hell. His aim is to make you more like Him and exalt you in due time better than we can exalt of live it up for ourselves.
Do you approach God with a "my world" mentality? Are the dictations of your heart and spirit concerned only with what will benefit this life? Do you find yourself desiring to have it your way? If so, let's be honest and confess that God is a better Master of our life than we. My "world" and your "world" will one day lie in smoldering ashes, but as Martin Luther remarked in his song, "His {Christ's) Kingdom is forever." We as believer's are the recipients of the Kingdom's blessings and King. Our pathways end in destruction. His pathways end in everlasting Glory.
Father, help us today to be desirous of what You want and that our hearts might be in tune with Your world for Your Saints. Forgive us as we take our eyes off Your best and desire our least. May it be that we shall one day be confident in saying, "my life is Yours unreserved." In your Name, Amen.
Forward this to a friend and keep your eyes upon the skies, Jesus is coming soon!
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