“Acceptance is not denying the reality of what we’re experiencing and how we feel about it.”

A thought by Craig Groeschel from his book, Hope in the Dark: Believing God Is Good When Life Is Not (p. 129). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

I’m not much at using a negative to get a point across but this is a good one.

Craig says, “Sometimes, even when we remember all that God has done for us, it doesn’t change our circumstances. Sometimes we just have to accept that it’s beyond our understanding right now and just keep going. But we must also realize that acceptance is not denying the reality of what we’re experiencing and how we feel about it. It simply means acknowledging the truth of the situation, expressing our feelings, and looking to God for what he’s going to do.”

He then says, “Acceptance is not denial. When you accept what God is doing, you don’t simply stuff your feelings down and let your heart die, even as you’re practicing your smile in the mirror and memorizing Bible verses. When you accept that God’s up to something that you can’t see or understand right now, you don’t just roll over and play dead and resign yourself to despair. No, you keep praying for a miracle from him unless he tells you otherwise… But you don’t pretend that everything is okay when clearly it’s not.

“Unfortunately, too often I see struggling Christians trying to make their faith something separate that they have to endure, like a wool coat that’s two sizes too small which they’re forced to wear in July. They try to act like they’re cool and calm when there’s obviously no way they could be. I call these kinds of believers HITS Christians because they’ve stuck their Heads In The Sand.

He goes on, “Sometimes when finances are bad, these people say, ‘But I want the house. I know God has promised me this house.’ So they risk everything and go into debt way beyond what they can afford. Even when every trusted friend advises against it, they buy the house ‘ faith.’ And they put their head in the sand. When the storm is coming, some Christians don’t prepare for the reality—the inevitability—that it will hit. They don’t face the truth. They just put their head in the sand, pretending we’re all still in the garden of Eden.”

Craig then says, “Maybe God is trying to tell you something through your circumstances, something like, ‘Pull your head out—now!’”

Maybe he is saying that to some of you.  So will you listen to him and do it?

Yes, yes!