What Can God Do for Me?
Today I slept lots. I went home after praying at CBC and dropping off people at Soup Plantation. I was not very happy. Earlier in the day, I had been thinking about a friend of mine who always seemed to have problems in his/her life. For anonymities sake, let’s call that friend Lee Strobel. Now Lee tells me that he consistently has problems with making friends and is thoroughly unhappy with his life. However, I find that he does not even attempt to befriend others, expecting people to do so to him. His entire life is patched with incidents and decisions in which he did whatever was best for him. Too be honest, I was quite a bit annoyed with Lee. Now I do not attempt to take away from the hardships in his life, but in the end it is the personal decisions that shape our lives, not other people’s choices. How can we expect others to bring joy into our lives when we are not willing to do so for ourselves? How can we expect others to even think of our troubles when we simply do what is best for ourselves at every turn?
So why did I go into this long story about Lee Strobel? I’m not sure. Maybe I just wanted to promote Strobel’s books The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith. But actually, there is a greater purpose.
I fumed about this subject earlier in the week. Upon reflection, I found my qualms to be reflected in Christian culture. We love Jesus. But more often than not, people seem to expect God to give us things: material wealth, a wonderful love life, or just a calm state of mind. Make no mistake, in the end God will give us much more than this. However, we are much more worried about what He can do for us than what we should be doing for the Lord. We sit waiting, asking what God can do for me. For people who have already been saved, we already know that God has already given us so much more than we could ever deserve. So why do we as Christians still see God as an omnipotent Santa Claus who gives us little gifts? Isn’t the point behind Christianity really to honor and glorify our maker? In the end, we are to be fulfilled not by practicing religion so that our own lives are bettered, but by following and living the Word of God to please Him!
Maybe I’m being confusing. I sure can’t decipher what I said before. Have you ever heard of that historic phrase of JFK that goes, "Ask not what my country can do for me, but what I can do for my country"? In effect, this is saying, “we have a greater responsibility to something higher than ourselves”. And we do. I think that many of us are bogged down by the fact that God does not seem to be blessing us. Obviously he has already done that and more with his grace. But we are troubled nonetheless. We wonder when the spiritual gifts or the serenity will come. I admit I have often wondered such things as well. But really, when will this eternal joy, where will this unending bliss come from? The answer is rather obvious. When we truly live our lives for Christ, when we sacrifice everything to live a life pleasing to Him, then we will find our own happiness. When God is happy, I am happy. So I beg you to reconsider your outlooks. Instead of focusing on the imperfections in your life, why not worry about the imperfections in your spiritual walk. I know I’m not being very clear. I can’t help it. I can’t really express what I feel in my heart. I guess my only point is that religion is not something that is in your life so that you can feel warm and fuzzy all the time. Christianity is a means of learning the truth and more importantly honoring and glorifying God. We should not be religious to further our own aims. We should be religious to further His aims. And truth be told, that warm and fuzzy feeling will come when we truly live a life pleasing to Him. First we have to worry about how to sacrifice for Him rather than ourselves.
I guess I just wanted to emphasize this as in our culture, we are told to take what we want when we want it. If that doesn’t work, we are encouraged to whine about it. Our spiritual walks will never be lasting and fulfilling if we focus on ourselves. If we direct all of our attention and efforts to pleasing God then we will be truly filled.
So how will we do these things? How will we get away from worrying about our own “important” problems and focusing on the Lord? Action. Following the precepts of the Word will teach you how true they are. Do something, do anything. Pray more, read more, evangelize more, worship more. Just because you think you will fail or that you have no direction does not mean you should not try! God’s has worked greater wonders than inspiring confused Christians more times than I can count. He took an aimless little monkey as myself and gave him hope, life, and direction. Jesus’s love works wonders. We ought to start paying Him back.
Meanwhile, many of you will just call me a hypocritical, self-righteous bore. I am all but one. I do not claim to live in this way at all times. But I try. And I pray. And I repent every single day. I am not casting stones. Second chances are needed. Lately, I find myself wondering when a particular issue will finally be finished. When will I be filled with joy? When will I have what others say I need and deserve? And the answer is soon. Sooner than any of us can imagine, we will be rewarded eternally. It is the only thing I can take comfort in. I distract myself with praise songs. I lose myself in prayer. I know I don't do it enough. I don't read the Word enough anymore. I don't pray as long. I don't sing as much. Which could very well be part of why things are bad. I forget my point. All I know is I finally memorized most of Psalm 23, the verse that everyone knows.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He heals my soul. He leads me in paths of righteous, for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me...." (Psalm 23)
Today I slept lots. I went home after praying at CBC and dropping off people at Soup Plantation. I was not very happy. Earlier in the day, I had been thinking about a friend of mine who always seemed to have problems in his/her life. For anonymities sake, let’s call that friend Lee Strobel. Now Lee tells me that he consistently has problems with making friends and is thoroughly unhappy with his life. However, I find that he does not even attempt to befriend others, expecting people to do so to him. His entire life is patched with incidents and decisions in which he did whatever was best for him. Too be honest, I was quite a bit annoyed with Lee. Now I do not attempt to take away from the hardships in his life, but in the end it is the personal decisions that shape our lives, not other people’s choices. How can we expect others to bring joy into our lives when we are not willing to do so for ourselves? How can we expect others to even think of our troubles when we simply do what is best for ourselves at every turn?
So why did I go into this long story about Lee Strobel? I’m not sure. Maybe I just wanted to promote Strobel’s books The Case for Christ and The Case for Faith. But actually, there is a greater purpose.
I fumed about this subject earlier in the week. Upon reflection, I found my qualms to be reflected in Christian culture. We love Jesus. But more often than not, people seem to expect God to give us things: material wealth, a wonderful love life, or just a calm state of mind. Make no mistake, in the end God will give us much more than this. However, we are much more worried about what He can do for us than what we should be doing for the Lord. We sit waiting, asking what God can do for me. For people who have already been saved, we already know that God has already given us so much more than we could ever deserve. So why do we as Christians still see God as an omnipotent Santa Claus who gives us little gifts? Isn’t the point behind Christianity really to honor and glorify our maker? In the end, we are to be fulfilled not by practicing religion so that our own lives are bettered, but by following and living the Word of God to please Him!
Maybe I’m being confusing. I sure can’t decipher what I said before. Have you ever heard of that historic phrase of JFK that goes, "Ask not what my country can do for me, but what I can do for my country"? In effect, this is saying, “we have a greater responsibility to something higher than ourselves”. And we do. I think that many of us are bogged down by the fact that God does not seem to be blessing us. Obviously he has already done that and more with his grace. But we are troubled nonetheless. We wonder when the spiritual gifts or the serenity will come. I admit I have often wondered such things as well. But really, when will this eternal joy, where will this unending bliss come from? The answer is rather obvious. When we truly live our lives for Christ, when we sacrifice everything to live a life pleasing to Him, then we will find our own happiness. When God is happy, I am happy. So I beg you to reconsider your outlooks. Instead of focusing on the imperfections in your life, why not worry about the imperfections in your spiritual walk. I know I’m not being very clear. I can’t help it. I can’t really express what I feel in my heart. I guess my only point is that religion is not something that is in your life so that you can feel warm and fuzzy all the time. Christianity is a means of learning the truth and more importantly honoring and glorifying God. We should not be religious to further our own aims. We should be religious to further His aims. And truth be told, that warm and fuzzy feeling will come when we truly live a life pleasing to Him. First we have to worry about how to sacrifice for Him rather than ourselves.
I guess I just wanted to emphasize this as in our culture, we are told to take what we want when we want it. If that doesn’t work, we are encouraged to whine about it. Our spiritual walks will never be lasting and fulfilling if we focus on ourselves. If we direct all of our attention and efforts to pleasing God then we will be truly filled.
So how will we do these things? How will we get away from worrying about our own “important” problems and focusing on the Lord? Action. Following the precepts of the Word will teach you how true they are. Do something, do anything. Pray more, read more, evangelize more, worship more. Just because you think you will fail or that you have no direction does not mean you should not try! God’s has worked greater wonders than inspiring confused Christians more times than I can count. He took an aimless little monkey as myself and gave him hope, life, and direction. Jesus’s love works wonders. We ought to start paying Him back.
Meanwhile, many of you will just call me a hypocritical, self-righteous bore. I am all but one. I do not claim to live in this way at all times. But I try. And I pray. And I repent every single day. I am not casting stones. Second chances are needed. Lately, I find myself wondering when a particular issue will finally be finished. When will I be filled with joy? When will I have what others say I need and deserve? And the answer is soon. Sooner than any of us can imagine, we will be rewarded eternally. It is the only thing I can take comfort in. I distract myself with praise songs. I lose myself in prayer. I know I don't do it enough. I don't read the Word enough anymore. I don't pray as long. I don't sing as much. Which could very well be part of why things are bad. I forget my point. All I know is I finally memorized most of Psalm 23, the verse that everyone knows.
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He heals my soul. He leads me in paths of righteous, for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil for You are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me...." (Psalm 23)