1. We are more concerned with solving our problems than we are with finding God. Think about the 10 lepers in Luke 17. Nine of the 10 found what they were looking for: healing only. One returned to spend time in the PRESENCE of the God that healed him. Does that sound like us?
2. We are more concerned with finding ourselves than we are in finding God. We have been so hurt by this life and by people in this life, that we have been building walls around our hearts for decades. God wants those walls removed. Little by little he is chipping away those walls, to get into every hidden room of our hearts. Does it hurt? Yes!! Is it necessary? Of course. The end result? A soft heart of flesh, ready to love and be loved as if we’ve never been hurt. Jesus had been hurt like no other person on earth. Yet He loves unconditionally – as if He has never been betrayed!
3. We have a desire to fix life. Compare Enoch with Lamech.
Genesis 5:24 “Enoch walked with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.” So simple! Enoch walked with God. Wow. I love that. Enoch simply walked with God. And the Lord simply took him away and he escaped death.
And Lamech?
Genesis 5:28: “Lamech lived one hundred and eighty-two years, and had a son. 29 And he called his name Noah, saying, “This one will comfort us concerning our work and the toil of our hands, because of the ground which the LORD has cursed.” 31 So all the days of Lamech were seven hundred and seventy-seven years; and he died.”
See the difference? Walking with God versus trying to solve problems by yourself.
4. We value the healings of our pain more than the PARDON OF OUR SIN. The two criminals on the cross next to Jesus….yes, the one mocked him and the other one believed. But think deeper. The one realised that his sin needed to be pardoned first and foremost. He looked past his own pain and suffering and just knew that his sin was MORE EVIDENT than the agony he was going through. I am convinced that the words “you will be with me in paradise” were sweeter than a rescue from the cross would have been for him at that moment. He saw his sin and craved forgiveness. The other criminal though, mocked Jesus because he believed that Jesus was UNABLE TO SAVE HIM FROM SUFFERING. Sounds like the world? And aren’t we also falling in the same trap sometimes? We need to be comfortable, healed, prospered NOW, no matter what God is doing in our lives? Come on!!
5. We want answers more than we want God. We want to know WHY, LORD? Why me? Why my child? Why is this happening to me? I’m living my life for You, Lord. I need a break. I think our loving Father will some day in heaven play a video of these thoughts to us, and only then will we see how trivial our questions were in the bigger picture…. and hopefully our Father will have a sense of humour! No seriously, we need to get over ourselves. If God has not healed you and me or hasn’t opened that door YET, there is a reason for it. May He have something better in mind? Or we may think we have laid down everything, but have we REALLY? In my own life I can testify how He is drawing me closer into His arms….just when I think it is just not possible!
6. We look for a PLAN to follow, rather than a PERSON TO TRUST!
The most organised among us will struggle the hardest with this. We love to plan our lives. We need to see ahead! We are being taught in the Western World to have goals and to think about our future. And because of this we try to apply the same principles to our Christian lives. Think about the rich young ruler in Matthew 19. “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus was nothing but a good teacher to him – Jesus said no one is good but God – was He trying to give him a clue as to who He really was? If He is good then….He surely is God! The young man was looking for a formula to get into heaven. Little did he know that he was standing in the presence of the Life-Giver. Jesus could have answered by saying “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. But He didn’t. He showed the young man that he would never succeed by following a 10-point plan. He showed him that it is IMPOSSIBLE to inherit eternal life by your own works or by keeping the law – within yourself. But how UNNECESSARY for the man to go away sorrowful, when he actually found the Resurrection and the Life in human form! AND US? Don’t we do the same in our own lives? Strive and live for eternal life in the FUTURE, when our life with God starts NOW! In this moment!
So where do we go from here?
1. Believe God is good ALL THE TIME. He sees the big picture. We DON’T.
2. SEE THE OTHER SIDE OF HEBREWS 11. Not just the famous first part, but the infamous rest: “But others were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. 36 Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. 37 Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. 38 They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground. 39 All these people earned a good reputation because of their faith, yet none of them received all that God had promised. 40 For God had something better in mind for us, so that they would not reach perfection without us.”
3. Understand that the best place to find God is in the valley, not on the mountain.
4. Realize that the path that brings you closer to God has to involve pain. Take up your cross and follow Me, remember? John 15: “He prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” Ouch.
5. Future hope is more valuable than present relief.
6. Questions give way to worship. Think about Job. He had all these questions for God. But after God challenged him, those questions made way to worship! He worshiped God in word and in deed. He stopped feeling sorry for himself and started to pray for his friends – and God restored all that he had two fold.
Let’s remember that we want to spend eternity in the presence of God - getting to know Him, his grace, love AND righteousness. We’re not just interested in mansions, a painless life and streets of gold. Our Saviour deserves our time, love adoration and worship. He is drawing us closer into His arms – because He is after intimacy with you – not just a part of you, but ALL of you! ♥
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