So my life was simply not fulfilling, not because God had not blessed me every which way, but because I still had that false mentality that it was all about “me”! And it is not like I didn’t believe in God…but He was up in Heaven somewhere, right? He really didn’t have much to do with “my” day to day life, did He? I mean, I knew where to go if I needed a prayer answered, but then, well, my heart attitude was: “I’ve got it from here, Lord, thanks.” No one ever told me that God wanted to be involved in every aspect of my life. I thought He was just this cosmic Genie who would keep me safe and grant me my heart’s desires when I asked. Sure I loved Him…sort of…kind of like. I mean I didn’t really know Him, so how can you love someone you don’t intimately know? I believed God was real. I understood He created everything seen and unseen. And I even had enough Faith to trust that He heard my prayers, and wanted to answer them…but again, since life revolved around me, I expected Him to answer them the way I wanted, as well as when I wanted. But this didn’t happen as often as I would have liked and so my life was not fulfilling. The Truth was that God was a side note in “my” life. Certainly not the center of it all!
We humans…and dare I say, we Christians?…have this wrong way of thinking that God’s main desire is for His people to be happy. Nothing could be further from the truth, and this is why too many new converts backslide and stop moving forward in their walk with Jesus. No one tells us that we must make a shift in mentality from “me” being at the center of life, to God being the whole point to life. God is not trying to make His children happy. God desires us to be holy. That is a whole other story, my Friends.
Think of it this way: let’s say your young child wants to eat ice cream for dinner every night. In their immaturity, they truly think that will make them so very happy! As their parent though, we should know better, shouldn’t we? And God as our Perfect Father certainly knows way better than us, His children. Yet if we still think we are the center of the universe, and our comfort is the focus of God’s Plan, we miss the mark and life gets very difficult. Mr Lucado asks, “If God exists to please us, then shouldn’t we always be pleased?” (p5) The truth most certainly does set us free, but first we must KNOW the truth!
2023’s Got A Minute? Book Club
January: The First & Best Book Ever: The Bible
February: Love Is In the Air: “The 5 Love Languages: The Secret to Love That Lasts” by Gary Chapman
March: Spring Growth: “Secrets of the Vine” by Bruce Wilkinson
April: Living the Resurrected Life: “The Wonderful Spirit Filled Life” by Dr Charles Stanley
May: My Spiritual Mom: “Making Good Habits Breaking Bad Habits” by Joyce Meyer
June: Spiritual Dad: “It’s Not About Me- Rescue from the Life We Thought Would Make Us Happy” by Max Lucado
<>< Peace, Diane
