Genesis 22:2 (ESV)2 He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
We tend to follow after the call of God because of the promise of blessings. And those blessings come, but not without hardship and even suffering along with them. There comes a point on the journey in the walk with God where we discover the real blessing is the Lord himself.
Genesis 15:1 (NKJV)1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
Sometimes we are praying selfishly wanting to talk to God on our terms not His. Are we looking to further our relationship or just the results of that relationship? One guy said that in our approach to God we should seek Him first and not our own happiness because if we seek Him first we will find happiness.
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
That includes happiness. This is one of our favorite scriptures
Psalm 37:4 (NKJV)4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
We tend to follow after the call of God because of the promise of blessings. And those blessings come, but not without hardship and even suffering along with them. There comes a point on the journey in the walk with God where we discover the real blessing is the Lord himself.
Genesis 15:1 (NKJV)1 After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, "Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."
Sometimes we are praying selfishly wanting to talk to God on our terms not His. Are we looking to further our relationship or just the results of that relationship? One guy said that in our approach to God we should seek Him first and not our own happiness because if we seek Him first we will find happiness.
Matthew 6:33 (NKJV)33 But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
That includes happiness. This is one of our favorite scriptures
Psalm 37:4 (NKJV)4 Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart.
Seeking God for the Right Reasons
by Sarah Phillips
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1: 21
"God promised to give Abraham a son and finally, after years of waiting, God came through, with Isaac. Why in the world would God ask Abraham to give up that gift? In my opinion, it is for the same reason He asked me to call off my wedding. God wants us to love Him more than we love His promises. The minute we get those out of order, He readjusts us.”
While we don’t fully know the mind of God in Abraham’s situation, Pike’s simple thought sheds light on a struggle I think all of us encounter at some time in our lives – the struggle to love God above everything else, even His blessings. God wants us to love Him because of who He is, not what He can give us. Yet, how often do we confuse our love of God’s promises with love of Him? How often do we see Him as the divine blessing machine, ready to dole out happiness on our terms? The popularity of "prosperity theology" reveals how easy it is for believers to twist love of God into the pursuit of earthly happiness.
To be honest, it’s not just greed that gets in the way of loving God. It’s also a limited understanding of who God is. I used to wonder how some Christians could sit for over an hour praying. Is God really that interesting? I’d wonder. This type of thinking reveals a fundamental flaw in how I perceive God, and I think that flaw is what keeps many from coming to Christ in the first place. It’s easy to see Him as limited like we are limited. It’s easy to forget that God is truly our all in all. As C.S. Lewis once said, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
Still, had I not gone through a similar situation, I might not have believed Pike’s sincerity when she says: "I am thankful for His grace that saved me from ruining my life by pursuing my dream."
In a “reach for the stars, be anything you can be” culture, the idea that pursuing any dream could ruin my life seems foreign. The more I think about it, though, the more I see that living outside God’s will – even if it is for a “good reason” – is a recipe for failure.
Yet, when we give up our dreams for something greater - for Someone greater than ourselves - we begin to see we can trust God no matter what. We find solace in the incredible peace that comes with knowing that even if life here includes sorrow or dreams unfulfilled, there is a God that transcends not only all that’s missing in this life, but also all the good this life has to offer.
by Sarah Phillips
For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Philippians 1: 21
"God promised to give Abraham a son and finally, after years of waiting, God came through, with Isaac. Why in the world would God ask Abraham to give up that gift? In my opinion, it is for the same reason He asked me to call off my wedding. God wants us to love Him more than we love His promises. The minute we get those out of order, He readjusts us.”
While we don’t fully know the mind of God in Abraham’s situation, Pike’s simple thought sheds light on a struggle I think all of us encounter at some time in our lives – the struggle to love God above everything else, even His blessings. God wants us to love Him because of who He is, not what He can give us. Yet, how often do we confuse our love of God’s promises with love of Him? How often do we see Him as the divine blessing machine, ready to dole out happiness on our terms? The popularity of "prosperity theology" reveals how easy it is for believers to twist love of God into the pursuit of earthly happiness.
To be honest, it’s not just greed that gets in the way of loving God. It’s also a limited understanding of who God is. I used to wonder how some Christians could sit for over an hour praying. Is God really that interesting? I’d wonder. This type of thinking reveals a fundamental flaw in how I perceive God, and I think that flaw is what keeps many from coming to Christ in the first place. It’s easy to see Him as limited like we are limited. It’s easy to forget that God is truly our all in all. As C.S. Lewis once said, “God cannot give us a happiness and peace apart from Himself, because it is not there. There is no such thing.”
Still, had I not gone through a similar situation, I might not have believed Pike’s sincerity when she says: "I am thankful for His grace that saved me from ruining my life by pursuing my dream."
In a “reach for the stars, be anything you can be” culture, the idea that pursuing any dream could ruin my life seems foreign. The more I think about it, though, the more I see that living outside God’s will – even if it is for a “good reason” – is a recipe for failure.
Yet, when we give up our dreams for something greater - for Someone greater than ourselves - we begin to see we can trust God no matter what. We find solace in the incredible peace that comes with knowing that even if life here includes sorrow or dreams unfulfilled, there is a God that transcends not only all that’s missing in this life, but also all the good this life has to offer.
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