“If God answered all of our prayers, our character would suffer.”

A thought by Andy Stanley, (2009-01-21) from his book, Louder Than Words: The Power of Uncompromised Living (Kindle Location 836). The Doubleday Religious Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.

He qualifies that with “For in most cases, our prayers center around the removal of the very circumstances He is using to conform us to His image.”

Somehow we need to come to grips with the fact that God’s plan and purpose for us is different than ours. You see God is an investor and He only invests in those things that will last. Our outside will not last. Dust to dust and ashes to ashes but what lasts is what is inside of us, our spirit, our soul, our character. That is what He invests in. He wants us to become like Him.

I love the story of the sculptor who was looking at a big piece of granite and someone asked him what he was going to do with it? And he said that he was going to create a sculpture of an elephant. And they asked, “How are you going to do that?” And he said, “I’m going to chisel off everything that doesn’t look like an elephant.”

And that is what God is doing in our lives. He sends these circumstances into our lives that will chip away anything that doesn’t look like Him. And the key is to accept it and change or He will have to use a bigger hammer and chisel. So don’t waste the circumstances that come into your life. Accept them and learn and grow from them. Let Him use them to make you fit for what is ahead.

Andy says, “We spend our time, energy, and resources on the outer person. And we miss God. That’s why there are times in our lives when it seems like He’s so far away. Think about it. Most of our prayers have to do with our health, our wealth, and our social life. And when we experience a setback or grow impatient, we say, ‘God, where are You?’ At the same time, we fail to pray for the things that will benefit us for eternity.”

He is investing in what is going to last. Let Him have control of your life, of your character. Trust Him and follow Him.

As Andy says, “God’s main occupation is preparing us for the world to come. The focus of what God is doing in your life takes place in you, not around you.”

So what are you praying for?

Comments

“There’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.”

A thought by Bob Goff from his book, Everybody, Always: Becoming Love in a World Full of Setbacks and Difficult People ( p. 41). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Have you ever built a sand castle or maybe a Lego castle? Have you? Bob says, “We actually build castles all the time, out of our jobs and our families and the things we’ve purchased. Sometimes we even make them out of each other. Some of these castles are impressive too. Lots of people come to admire what we’ve built over the course of our lives and tell us what great castles we have. But Jesus told His friends we weren’t supposed to spend our lives building castles. He said He wanted us to build a kingdom, and there’s a big difference between building a castle and building a kingdom.” Bob goes on, “You see, castles have moats to keep creepy people out, but kingdoms have bridges to let everyone in. Castles have dungeons for people who ha...

“God does big things with small deeds.”

A thought by Max Lucado (2011-05-02) from his book, Cure for the Common Life (p. 115). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) I don’t know how you feel about what you are doing and how it can make a difference. You may feel that it is so small and not even worth the effort. Max says, “Begin. Just begin! What seems small to you might be huge to someone else. Just ask Bohn Fawkes. During World War II, he piloted a B-17. On one mission he sustained flak from Nazi antiaircraft guns. Even though his gas tanks were hit, the plane did not explode, and Fawkes was able to land the plane. “On the morning following the raid, Fawkes asked his crew chief for the German shell. He wanted to keep a souvenir of his incredible good fortune. The crew chief explained that not just one but eleven shells had been found in the gas tanks, none of which had exploded. “Technicians opened the missiles and found them void of explosive cha...

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book, Winning the War on Worry (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...

Just Continue That Thought...

Search This Blog