Does God Want Us to Fail?

Before you answer, let’s look at some of the definitions from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

• to lose strength: weaken <her health was failing>
• to fade or die away <until our family line fails>
• to stop functioning normally <the patient’s heart failed>
• to fall short <failed in his duty>
• to be unsuccessful <the marriage failed>
• to become bankrupt or insolvent

I’m going with the answer, “yes,” God wants us to fail. Based on the definitions above, here’s why:

God wants us to lose strength and understand we’re weak, so that we’ll also learn we “…can do everything through Him who gives me strength.” (Philippians 4:13) If we insist on trying to follow Jesus in our own strength, God will let us fail. He’s not in the business of blessing our plans, but He will give us strength to do whatever He calls us to do.

God wants us, our natural selves, to die. He said, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:27) Life is not about achieving our goals, accumulating wealth and having a good time. It’s about pursuing God’s goals, storing up treasure in heaven and experiencing the love, joy and peace of God.

God wants us to stop functioning normally, so we can start functioning supernaturally. Paul wrote to the church in Rome:

Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)

Do you want to know God’s good, perfect and pleasing will for your life? It’s the result of offering yourself to Him and no longer “functioning normally” as the world does. We must choose to no longer conform to the pattern of this world, but to instead be transformed by the renewing of our minds. In other words, we must learn to think like God. That comes from having our minds saturated with His word.

God wants us to understand we’ve already fallen short of his holy standard. We chose to live life on our terms, not His. We went our own way. We rebelled against the sovereign King of the universe. Paul said, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Our only recourse is to accept the forgiveness that Christ offers.

God wants us to be unsuccessful whenever we choose to pursue our own plans. It’s always good to remember that it’s not about you. It’s not about me. My goals and plans and dreams aren’t relevant…unless they’re ones God has given me. Only then does He want me to be successful. Even that is conditional though–God wants me to be successful in achieving His goals in His strength and in His ways. Not my goals. Not my strength. Not my ways.

God wants me to know I’m spiritually bankrupt. Jesus said, “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.” (Matthew 5:3 NLT) The poor Jesus is referring to are the ones who realize their need for Him, not simply those who lack financial resources. We are bankrupt. We’re broke. We’re totally dependent on God for everything.

Are you experiencing a season of failure? Things just aren’t working out? Can’t catch a break?

Maybe God is allowing you to fail. Not to punish you or humiliate you, but to teach you and to bless you. He knows true life is found only in Him. Not in money. Not in a career. Not in sex. Not in a relationship.

In Him alone.

So why would He grant success in the pursuits that only move us away from finding our life in Him?

Failure isn’t permanent or terminal. Failure is a stepping stone to greater intimacy with God and greater fruitfulness in His kingdom.

The writer of Hebrews said, “Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons.” (Hebrews 12:7)

Your current failure or hardship is God treating you as His child, a child He loves deeply and for whom He only desires the very best. Seek Him. Get to know Him better. Trust Him.

Ultimately, He wants you to be successful in everything He calls you to do. And He will always provide the strength and wisdom you need to accomplish His will.

Where’s God When You Need Him?

I just finished reading through the Old Testament books of Judges and Ruth. They both take place during the same time period in Israel’s history.

In Judges, we get a look at all of the various people who led Israel during the time from about 1382 to 1043 BC, including Deborah, Gideon and Samson. These were dark times in Israel’s history as they continually turned their backs on God and experienced His rebuke.

In Ruth, we’re introduced to one family and all of the pain, confusion and hardship they endured. It’s a powerful story with a great twist at the end. Be sure to read it–it’s only four chapters.

What strikes me as I read about the lives of these men and women is that their stories are always being played out in the context of a much bigger story. And that’s true with you and me also.

There’s God’s story and there’s our story, which is also part of God’s story. Your story and my story are sub-plots. We’re not the main story. God is.

In Ruth’s case, she lived in the country of Moab–just east of Israel. Because of a famine in Bethlehem, a man named Elimelech left there and went to live in Moab with his wife Naomi and their two sons. Eventually, Elimelech dies and the two sons marry Moabite women. Ruth is one of these two women.

About ten years after leaving Bethlehem, both of the sons die also. That’s when Naomi gets word that the famine in Bethlehem has ended, so she decides to go home. Ruth insists on going with her so these two widows set out for Bethlehem.

In a period of ten years, Naomi has gone from living in the Promised Land, being married and being the mother of two sons to living in a foreign country, losing a husband, losing both sons and now returning home unhappy, unfulfilled and feeling bitter about life.

How do we know she feels this way? When she arrives in Bethlehem, she tells people not to call her Naomi, but to call her Mara, which means “bitter.”

It would be hard to blame her, right? It’s been a pretty rough ten years. There had to be many times on that road back to Bethlehem that she thought, “Where’s God when you need Him?”

Have you ever felt that way?

I have. Lots of times. I’ve been angry, confused and bitter. I’ve wondered where God was and why He wasn’t helping. You might feel that way today.

Your marriage is in trouble.

Your child won’t listen to you.

You just lost your job or your house or both.

You desperately want a child, but can’t get pregnant and it doesn’t help that the unmarried teenage girl can.

The diagnosis came back. It’s not good and not what you expected.

So where’s God when we need Him?

Let’s step back into the lives of Naomi and Ruth again and see what we learn…

Once back in Bethlehem, Ruth meets a close relative of Naomi’s deceased husband. This man, named Boaz, has the right to purchase the property owned by Naomi’s husband and sons, which he does. And part of the deal is that Ruth becomes his wife.

God is working out His bigger story, but He’s also caring for Naomi and Ruth.

Eventually, Boaz and Ruth have a son, named Obed. When he is grown, Obed and his wife give birth to a son, named Jesse. Years later, Jesse becomes the father of David. King David.

And about a thousand years later, Jesus, the Savior of the world, is born in the line of King David.

Naomi couldn’t have known that was going to happen. Neither did Ruth. God knew though. He was always working in history to bring about His bigger story, His master plan to save the world.

Do you know how your present difficulties may be used by God one day? No, but He does. He sees your pain and suffering and none of it will be wasted. As you trust Him and persevere, He is conforming you to His image and using your circumstances to advance His kingdom.

No, you can’t see it, but He can. Just keep believing Him.

He’s not just the God of the big story, He’s the God of your story. He has a good plan for you. His love for you will never fail. When you seek Him, you will find Him.

Naomi felt bitter because she thought God was against her. I get that. I’ve felt that way. It’s just not true though. God is never against us. He’s always for us. We just need to remember there’s always a bigger story being played out. And we have a part in it. Our current, painful, confusing circumstances are part of God’s bigger story.

We don’t have to become bitter. That happens when we focus only on what we see and feel. Genuine joy and peace are ours when we choose to keep our eyes on God and trust that He is good and that He is working things out for our good and His ultimate glory.

Where is God when we need Him?

He’s here with us. He can be trusted, even when all hell is breaking loose. He is not the cause of your pain or difficulties, but He can use them to accomplish His purposes in your life and in the bigger story.

Our part is to walk faithfully with Him and not give up. Naomi and Ruth could have given up. On life and on God. But they didn’t.

In the closing scene of Ruth, we see Naomi holding Obed in her lap, caring for him. There’s no way she could have known she was holding the grandfather of King David.

God has a good plan for you. Keep trusting Him. Keep seeking Him. Keep obeying Him. You cannot possibly imagine all the good He’s going to do for you and through you, if only you will keep walking with Him.

How Quickly Do You Forget?

I’ve become very good at forgetting. I can forget why I walked into a room. I can start a task, get distracted, and an hour later remember what I was originally going to do. A couple weeks ago, I forgot my oldest daughter’s wedding anniversary.

Those things aren’t good, but there’s a type of forgetting that’s far worse. It’s an intentional forgetting. Maybe a better term for it is ignoring. And I guess when carried to the extreme, it’s really called rebellion.

Right before the nation of Israel is going to enter the Promised Land, Moses reminds them of their history and gives them their final instructions from God. He’s reminding them of things and teaching them things they’ll need to remember once they cross the Jordan River to take possession of the land of Canaan.

In Deuteronomy 8, he tells them:

When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions. He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.

If you ever forget the LORD your God and follow other gods and worship and bow down to them, I testify against you today that you will surely be destroyed. Like the nations the LORD destroyed before you, so you will be destroyed for not obeying the LORD your God.

Soon after speaking these words to Israel, Moses dies, and Joshua leads them into the Promised Land. And for a time, Israel remembers and obeys. For a time.

After the death of Joshua, there was no one to lead Israel and they fell into a period of several hundred years where they forgot God. They ignored Him. They rebelled against Him. This period in their history is recorded in the book of Judges.

After one period of peace, it says, “Again the Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord, and for seven years He gave them into the hands of the Midianites.” (Judges 6:1)

Israel eventually cries out to God for help and He rescues them by using Gideon and three hundred men to defeat an army of over 100,000. During Gideon’s lifetime, Israel once again enjoyed a period of peace for 40 years.

It doesn’t last though.

“No sooner had Gideon died than the Israelites again prostituted themselves to the Baals.” (Judges 8:33)

Do you ever wonder what in the world these people were thinking? Wasn’t it clear to them that things were better when they walked according to God’s ways? How could they so quickly forget what God had done for them?

Um, I do that. I forget. But again, that’s the kind word. I ignore, I rebel.

It’s easy to cry out to God in the desert, isn’t? It’s uncomfortable. We have needs. We want relief.

But when we enter the good land or when there are extended seasons of peace and provision, we tend to prostitute ourselves to our pleasures and distractions and other interests.

Like Israel, I forget. Do you?

So what are we to do? Is there any way out of the “cry out to God, experience His help, then forget Him,” cycle?

I think there is, but it requires a new priority and a new source of power.

If our priority is comfort or security or peace or pleasant circumstances, then once we have that, we will forget God. We won’t feel the urgency to seek Him. Why? Because we have from Him what we want.

We need a new priority. One that doesn’t change based on circumstances or feelings. Our priority needs to be a simple one. A very simple one. It simply needs to be to grow deeper in our friendship with God. Whether things are good or bad or somewhere in between, our goal doesn’t change. We want a deeper friendship with God. Period.

We also need a new source of power. Our own strength won’t cut it. We need God’s power. And that comes from the Holy Spirit. In Ephesians 1, Paul writes:

I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.

The Israelites didn’t have the Holy Spirit living in them, but if you have placed your faith in Christ, you do. You have the full power of God living in you. And we most fully experience His power when we most fully surrender.

So how quickly do you forget God?

If your answer is “pretty quick,” then it’s a sign you need a new priority and a new source of power.

How Much of What You Think About is True?

I was just doing a little research today to see how many thoughts the average person has each day. Opinions vary widely. One source said 2,400. Another said 55,000 and another 70,000. Interestingly, the article that said 2,400 also said that world-class athletes have less thoughts, which leads to greater focus. Or would it be greater focus leads to less thoughts?

My point though is that whether the number is 2,400 or 70,000 or somewhere in between, you and I do a lot of thinking.

So how much of what you think about is actually true? A related question, and just as important, is this: how much of what you think about do you think is true?

Let’s start with the last question.

I’m going to say that you and I tend to believe that most of what we think about is actually true. Whether it is or not. We just assume that most of our thoughts are right ones. If we knew them to be false, we wouldn’t keep thinking them, would we?

For example…

We think God is disappointed with us. He’s not, but we think He is, so we keep thinking it and then don’t feel right about approaching Him.

A young woman thinks if she has sex with her boyfriend, he’ll be more committed to her. Of course, it didn’t work with the last boyfriend or the one before that, but that doesn’t stop her from thinking it. More likely, the opposite is true.

A football player keeps thinking about the mistakes he could make that would cost his team the game. His confidence suffers and so does his performance.

A guy thinks that looking at pornography is harmless fun, but doesn’t realize he’s falling into a trap that will soon become an addiction. If he knew he’d soon be addicted, he might not be so quick to do it.

Or maybe it’s just all the subtle little thoughts we hardly pay attention to any more because we’ve completely convinced ourselves they’re true: I’m not good enough. I’m not pretty. I’m not smart. I always fail. I’ll never change. God won’t come through for me. I’ll never make it.

You get the point. We tend to think that most of our thoughts are true. That’s why we keep thinking them and giving them more power over us.

Our thoughts are the catalyst behind our emotions. I just don’t suddenly feel anxious–my thoughts cause that feeling. Fear or worry don’t just appear from nowhere–I give birth to them by what I think about, by what I believe is true.

Don’t believe everything you think. If even just 10% of our 2,400 thoughts are wrong, that means in any given day, we have 240 wrong thoughts. That’s not so bad if you thought it was going to be sunny, but it rained instead or you thought the Cowboys would win, but they lost.

The problem comes when we consistently have wrong thoughts about God, about ourselves, about others and about this life. From my own experience, the more I dwell on a wrong thought about God or myself, the stronger it becomes. It begins to exert more power and control over me.

Of course, the opposite can also be true. As I think about and believe the truth about God and myself, I begin to experience more of the life God intends for me. I experience more peace and less worry.

So how do we know which thoughts are true and which aren’t?

Ultimately, our only hope is in God’s word. There is no other reliable source of truth. Now of course if you think the rash on your arm is skin cancer, then the wise thing to do would be to see a doctor. Let her examine you and tell you the truth.

But most of our thoughts don’t need to be tested by a doctor. They need to be tested by God.

So how do we practically do that?

In yesterday’s post, I talked about developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit. That’s step one. There’s no substitute for having God Himself living inside us revealing truth to us. The Holy Spirit is our teacher, counselor and helper. He will never leave us or fail us. You can always trust Him to reveal the truth about you, God and this life.

The Bible is unlike any other book that will ever be written, because the Author Himself lives inside everyone who has placed their faith in Christ. There are many good Christian books, but those authors aren’t present with us as we read. And their words are not without error. We must allow God’s word to fill our minds and change how we think.

The Holy Spirit and the Word of God are a powerful combination. As you invest time reading the Bible, the Holy Spirit can speak to you and teach you and counsel you. He can cause a verse to jump off the page. He can guide you to promises He has for you. He alone can renew your mind. He can reveal wrong thought patterns you’ve held onto for years and replace them with truth.

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you. (Philippians 4:4-9)

We can’t present our requests to God and then go right back to our wrong thoughts. We can’t just let our minds dwell on whatever they want to. We present our requests and then actively think about truth. We ask the Holy Spirit for His help. We spend time in God’s word to counteract the wrong way of thinking we’re bombarded with from the world each day.

Why not begin to question some of what you think about. Even those thoughts you’ve had for a long time. Those might be the ones that are giving you the most trouble.

The Holy Spirit. The Word of God. And choosing to think about the truth. It’s the only way.

The Holy Spirit

In Luke 11, Jesus’ disciples ask Him to teach them how to pray. After He models a prayer for them, He goes on to say:

“Suppose one of you has a friend, and he goes to him at midnight and says, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread, because a friend of mine on a journey has come to me, and I have nothing to set before him.’

“Then the one inside answers, ‘Don’t bother me. The door is already locked, and my children are with me in bed. I can’t get up and give you anything.’ I tell you, though he will not get up and give him the bread because he is his friend, yet because of the man’s boldness he will get up and give him as much as he needs.

“So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

If you’re like me, you gravitate to the “ask and it will be given to you” part. Not even the seeking and knocking parts. Just the asking and receiving part.

Is that where you go too?

What’s really catching my attention today though is the very last thing Jesus said, “…how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Sure seems like Jesus is more excited about us asking for the Holy Spirit than anything else. Does that excite you though? I mean, would you rather have a financial breakthrough or the Holy Spirit? Would you rather experience physical healing or experience the Holy Spirit?

I’ll be honest, if I have a financial need or I’m  sick…I think I know what I want. Are you with me?

Fortunately, Jesus isn’t forcing us into a corner and making us choose. He doesn’t say it’s an either/or proposition. We can ask for financial help and also ask for the Holy Spirit. If we need healing, we can ask for that and ask for the Holy Spirit.

I know for some of us, the Holy Spirit is a bit of a mystery. Sure, we know He’s God, but it’s a little hard to relate to Him, right? Even if our earthly father wasn’t very good (thankfully mine was), we all know what it’s like to have a father, so we can relate to God the Father. And Jesus, God the Son, was human just like us. We can understand relating to another person.

But the Holy Spirit? It can be a little harder to understand Him. And yet Jesus had a lot to say about Him in John 14-16. Maybe it would be worth spending some time there.

Now here’s the really good news. If you’ve placed your faith in Christ, you don’t have to ask for the Holy Spirit. You already have Him. He’s living in you right now.

So rather than asking the Father to give us the Holy Spirit, maybe our prayer needs to be, “Holy Spirit, I give myself to you. All of me. Wholeheartedly. I hold nothing back.”

It’s really the only path to experiencing the full, abundant life God has for us. It doesn’t come through self-effort or hard work or manipulation. It comes through full and complete surrender to a person, to the Holy Spirit.

What’s stopping you from giving yourself to Him right now?

For I Know the Plans I Have For You

I’ve begun a countdown. I even have a countdown app on my iPhone. Four hundred days from today, I will turn 50.

I don’t know about you, but 50 doesn’t sound young to me. Of course, it’s all a matter of perspective. If you’re 70, then 50 is young. If you’re 20, then 50 is ancient.

I have no expectation of living to 100 or even 90. My dad almost made it to 73. If that’s how long I have, then I’m well past the half-way point of my life. If my life is a football game, half-time is over and we’re playing in the 3rd quarter and I’m just six years from the 4th quarter.

Depending on your personality, you may be thinking all of this is a little morbid. Or you may be wondering who in the world actually thinks to countdown the days until they turn 50, especially when it’s still 400 days a way.

Here’s the thing–when I turned 30, I was disappointed. I had certain expectations that were unmet at that point. I expected my life to look different than it did. I figured by 30, I would “have my act together.” In hindsight, my expectations were the problem, not my life.

So when I turned 40, I had no such illusions of having a nice, orderly, problem-free life. There is no such thing. Turning 40 was no big deal. I guess the biggest thing I learned during the decade between turning 30 and 40 was how to extend grace. Even to myself.

So as I close in on 50, I don’t have expectations that life will be something it’s not, but I do have some expectations, of myself, that I believe are part of God’s plans for my life. There are some things I want to accomplish. There are character flaws I want to work on. There are people and activities I want to invest in.

I want to enjoy these next 400 days, but I also want to live purposefully. I want to have fun, while also walking obediently with God. In 400 days, I want to be able to look back and know I did life God’s way, not Gregg’s way.

What I’ve done is broken up the 400 days into 10 periods of 40 days each. Calendar wise, it might have been easier to just wait until the one-year mark and start counting down the months, but there’s something special about a 40-day period of time. (Jesus fasted in the desert for 40 days. The spies explored the Promised Land for 40 days.)

Each 40 day period will give me an opportunity to emphasize something different depending on what I sense God doing in my life. Maybe prayer will be an emphasis during one of the 40 days. Maybe training for a 5k race will be. Or maybe studying the book of Ephesians. We’ll see.

In this first 40 day period, I’m emphasizing writing more consistently. I want to post here more often and I also have a book I’ve been working on…or not working on. I plan to finish it by October 9th, the end of the first 40 days. My goal is to write 1,500 words a day. Ambitious, but doable.

One emphasis that will run through all 400 days, and beyond, is simply obeying God–walking according to His ways. Jeremiah 29:10-14 says:

This is what the LORD says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.”

The Israelites had been conquered by the Babylonians and carried into exile. They were no longer living in and enjoying the land God had promised to give them. They were captives in a foreign land.

Why though? What went so terribly wrong?

Israel had broken the covenant with God. He had given them His laws, but they chose to not follow them. God had graciously taught them how to live, but they stubbornly went their own way. Rather than give themselves wholeheartedly to God, they adopted the practices of the nations around them.

God had made it clear that if they would follow His commands, He would bless them and prosper them and protect them. But Israel rebelled against Him. They went their own way and did their own thing.

Maybe today it feels like you’re in exile. And you’re crying out for God to bring you back. You desperately want to experience His plans to prosper you and give you a hope and a future. Fortunately, He is always gracious toward us. When we cry out–He listens. When we seek Him–we find Him.

While you’re seeking and crying out though, maybe it’s also a good time to examine your life to see what caused “your exile” in the first place. Sometimes we get into bad situations because we live in a fallen, broken world. Bad stuff happens even when we’re trying to do the right things.

Sometimes though, our own disobedience leads us into exile. Our own choices got us to where we are. And while it’s good and right to cry out to God, it’s also time to make the changes we need to make. The surest path to experiencing God’s very best plans for our lives is to simply obey Him.

Is there an area of your life that needs examining? A relationship? Your finances? Something at work? What you watch or look at? How you use your time?

Remember, God’s commands are never meant to rob our joy or fun. It’s just the opposite. God’s commands provide for us and protect us. They keep us from danger. God’s ways are always for our good. Never for our harm.

You may not be 400 days from turning 50, but there’s nothing stopping you from using these next 40 days to intentionally walk according to God’s ways, so you position yourself to experience the plans He has for you.

Something Better Than Prayer

Before I get started, some disclaimers:

1. I don’t believe in formulas. In Chemistry? Yes. In life? No. God isn’t a predictable science experiment. If we do A and B, God is not obligated to do C.
2. Life is messy. We live in a fallen, broken, sinful world. Bad things can happen even when we do the right things.
3. Mixing a fervent prayer with the right measure of faith doesn’t always yield the results we want. See #1 and #2.
4. I don’t believe people get cancer and die because they didn’t have enough faith.
5. Sin does not always prevent God from blessing us. If it did, none of us would be blessed. Ever.

Those things being said, I’ve been thinking about prayer and obedience the past few days. Now I don’t mean to pit them against each other, but go with me for a moment. Which is better–prayer or obedience?

I guess the next question would be: better for what?

How about–better for getting what we desire?

We desire better health. We desire a new car or house. We want to get married or see our current marriage improve. We want to pay our bills on time, get out of debt and have a little left over for a vacation once in awhile.

Is it better to pray or obey?

I can already hear you saying the answer: Both!

And I would agree with you. It’s obviously better to do both, but my sense is that many of us only do one. We pray. We pray for God to intervene. We pray for Him to rescue us. We pray for Him to change someone’s heart. We pray for a breakthrough.

But often, we don’t obey Him.

A couple weeks ago while driving home from a weekend out of town, I stopped for gas at a little country gas station. As I came out of the store, I noticed a very obese woman sitting in her car smoking a cigarette.

Now imagine this woman begins to experience a chronic cough and shortness of breath. Not hard to imagine, right?

She has a choice now: she could begin praying God will heal her or she could stop smoking, eat healthier and exercise. We would think she was foolish for only praying, but not changing her habits, right?

I wonder how many of us get into difficulties with our finances, our relationships or our own medical issues and beg God for a miracle or some kind of breakthrough, but what may be better is for us to simply obey Him. And then add our prayers.

In the book of Deuteronomy, Moses is giving instructions to the Israelites before they cross the Jordan River to take possession of the land of Canaan. In chapter 28, Moses goes into great detail about what will happen to them if they fully obey God and carefully follow His commands. And he goes into even greater detail about what will happen if they do not obey.

There’s no mention of prayer. God’s blessings are contingent upon their obedience, not the fervency of their prayers. God graciously instructed them on how to live and was very clear about the blessings or curses that would follow their choices.

It’s not just Moses though. In John 15:1-11, Jesus is teaching His disciples that He is the vine and they are the branches. Apart from Him, they can do nothing. In verses 7-8, He says:

If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

“If you remain in me and my words remain in you…” Isn’t that another way to say, “if you obey me?” Obedience plus prayer results in much fruit bearing.

Jesus goes on in verses 9-11 to say:

As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

We remain in Jesus’ love by obeying him. And what is the result of doing that?

Joy. Complete joy.

Isn’t that ultimately what we all want? Complete joy?

So what are we to do about the difficulties we find ourselves in?

Let’s take our finances for example. If we’re in a mess–are we continuing to spend beyond our income? And just as importantly, if not more so, are we giving? 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 says:

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ⁷ Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. ⁸ And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

Are we crying out to God to give us relief from our financial difficulties, while choosing to sow sparingly? God promises we will reap generously if we sow generously.

Are we asking God to heal our high blood pressure, but eating a diet full of unhealthy food? God has given us healthy foods to eat for our enjoyment and good health.

Are we desperately pleading with God to heal our marriage, but not practicing the principles in Ephesians 5:22-33 or reading a good book on marriage or attending a Weekend to Remember marriage conference or seeking counseling? Sure it takes two to heal a marriage, but are we at least doing our part?

God not only gave us His commands for our own good, He also gave us His Holy Spirit to empower us to obey them. He has instructed us on how to live this life. But are we listening? Are we following through on what He’s already told us?

I’m not at all suggesting that obeying God is somehow better than praying to God. But I am saying that if we’re praying without obeying, then I can’t help thinking God is saying, “I’ve already answered your prayer. You’ll discover it as soon as you obey me.”

Last thing: it would be worth re-reading the five disclaimers I started with.

Off Course From God

This morning as I was sitting on the porch of the cabin we’re staying at in Branson, I noticed this crooked little tree. I’m sure there was a reason it took the crooked path it did, I just don’t know what it was. It’s interesting though that after a being “off course” for awhile, it corrected itself.

Maybe you can relate to this little tree. I can.

Was there a season in your life when you got off course? Or are you off course now?

Sometimes we can look back and see where we made the wrong turn. It could have started with a small compromise or a bad decision. Or a sin. Maybe you felt like God let you down and that led to feeling disappointed with Him. Even angry at Him. So you decided to go your own way.

I understand all of it. I’ve been there.

We need to be reminded that God’s will is always good and perfect. It’s better than anything we can get on our own. And the longer we stay off course, the longer we miss out on what is best for us.

One of my favorite passages is James 4:1-10…

¹ What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? ² You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. ³ When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.

⁴ You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God. ⁵ Or do you think Scripture says without reason that the spirit he caused to live in us envies intensely? ⁶ But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says:

“God opposes the proud
but gives grace to the humble.”

⁷ Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸ Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. ⁹ Grieve, mourn and wail. Change your laughter to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰ Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.

God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

Who are the proud? Those who choose to go their own way. Those living apart from God. Those who choose to live “off course.”

And God graciously opposes them. He blocks them. So they will come back to Him. So they will correct their course and go His way.

So who are the humble, those who experience God’s grace? The answer is found in verse 7: “Submit yourselves, then, to God.”

The humble are those who submit to Him, who surrender their lives to Him. The ones who turn from the wrong course and intentionally choose to follow Him again.

And what do we find when we do?

He is waiting there with open arms and a heart full of grace. He will not turn us away. He will not berate us. He will not hold our sin over us. He will give us more grace. He will come near to us. And He will lift us up.

Waiting on God

My wife and son and I drove to Branson, Missouri today for a long weekend. One of my daughters is working here this summer, so we’ll get to visit her and have some fun at a water park and Silver Dollar City.

After dinner at Joe’s Crab Shack tonight, we were driving back to our cabin when we came to a traffic light. The light was red and there were two vehicles in front of us. Very few cars were on the road that had the green light. So we sat there and waited. And waited. And waited. And waited.

It was one of the longest red lights I’ve ever waited for. Maybe the longest. Apparently, it was also one of the longest for the two cars in front of me because they finally just went through the red light. I can’t blame them because I would have done it too, except that right after they went through it, the light turned green and I was able to go.

It made me wonder how often we get impatient waiting for God to answer a prayer, open a door, give a direction or meet a need we have. And because we’re impatient, we go before we should. We take matters into our own hands. We make a decision before we’ve heard from God.

One of the most difficult things we’ll ever do is wait for God. We don’t like to wait. We want to know now. We want our need met now. We want to see how things will work out now.

We don’t want to wait, but quite often, God requires waiting. It’s just how He works, so we might as well learn how to do it well.

When we find ourselves in a season of waiting, we need to remember that God is always good, He’s always faithful, He alone is all-powerful and He never stops loving us. It’s so important to be reminded of these truths. If we forget them, then we will become impatient and possibly make decisions apart from God’s best for us.

Remember that because He is good, He cannot even think a wrong thought toward us. He cannot even consider doing anything that isn’t best for us.

But if we doubt His goodness or His love for us or His faithfulness to His promises, then we will naturally find it difficult to wait for Him.

Are you needing to wait right now?

If you’re wondering what God is up to and why He won’t just do something, if you’re impatient to the point of moving ahead without God’s clear direction, then spend some time meditating on this passage from Psalm 37:3-7. Let His word saturate your mind. Let it bring calm to your heart.

Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

You will never go wrong if your goal is to trust Him, delight in Him, commit your way to Him and wait patiently for Him, because He will NEVER fail you.

The Fruit of the Spirit

Yesterday, my son snapped this picture of a bee that was desperately holding on to our windshield as we were driving to lunch.

You could see that as our speed increased, the little bee was straining to hold on. The bee must have thought it was trying to survive a very windy day.

If the bee would have only known that to experience calm, it only needed to let go. It was only experiencing a turbulent day because it was holding on to the wrong thing.

What wrong thing are you holding onto today?

Have you placed your security in money?

Does your happiness depend on another person?

Are you only at peace if all your circumstances are good?

Do you only feel good about yourself if you think you’re pleasing everyone around you?

Do you look to your job or your children to make you feel significant?

Galatians 5:22-23 says:

“…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”

If we hold on to anything or anyone other than God Himself, our lives will feel out of control, turbulent, confusing and chaotic. But that’s not God’s intention for us.

When we surrender everything we have, everything we are and everything we desire to Him–we experience the fruit of His Spirit. We don’t produce the fruit–He produces it as a result of living surrendered lives and walking in obedience. And He even gives us the power to obey Him if only we will trust Him.

We can do life our way or we can do it His way.

Which way are you doing it today?