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At first it may sound like the whole prosperity gospel thing; Name it and Claim it! You know, the idea some hold to that all you have to do is claim it and God will give it to you. God wants you to have what you want, what your heart desires. The reason you don’t have is you don’t have enough faith; you haven’t claimed it!
Sounds great if only it were true. God does want you to succeed. God does want to give you the desires of your heart. But only when those desires match his desires Desire is fickle. Desire is deceitful. Desire can trick you into seeing all the ‘good reasons’ to have something. But desire forgets to include God plans become frustrated.
Take Jonah for example. He was called to go to his worst enemy and preach the gospel. There was no good reason for him to do so. His life and his principles would be compromised. Heading the other way made perfect sense in his heart. Desire triumphs!
God had other ideas and when Jonah aligned his heart to God’s an entire city was spared. When you draw near to God and allow his Spirit to control your desires, your success is guaranteed. Not because you got what you wanted, but because you got what he wanted. He never promises us an easy time on earth, but the things he has planned for us for eternity will make the struggles of today seem minuscule.
God’s idea of success is opening your heart to complete submission to his will.
20 years ago I officiated at one of the most difficult funerals I’ve ever had to do. I was pastor of a small church in a small town in NW Wisconsin. We were a close knit church family and I was more of a friend than a pastor to most. That’s one reason this funeral was hard. It was hard enough to mourn the loss of a five year old boy, but when that boy was the son of a close friend, it was almost unbearable.
How do you answer the ‘why’ question? How do you answer the ‘Where was God’ question? It’s often said, especially when a young person dies, that ‘they died too soon’ but in reality, God has every day of our lives planned There are no early deaths, no surprises in heaven.
Life is short. Live it with excellence. Never forget the lessons learned from your past, but let Jesus remove the guilt and shame. Whatever your past, it should be a stepping stone to the future, not an anchor holding you back.
Don’t wish for tomorrow because you don’t know what tomorrow will bring. Rather, trust your Father to bring the things of tomorrow to you in due time. The wisdom God gave you from yesterday’s lessons empowers you to face the challenges of tomorrow.
I remember it vividly. I’d had my eye on a certain truck at the local car dealership for some time. I couldn’t afford it, but had all sorts of good ‘ministry’ reasons to buy it. Finally I went in to talk to the dealer. He gave me a deal I chose not to resist. A deal that was right out of my budget range. You don’t get deals like that everyday! I signed the papers and drove it off the lot, completely ignoring the knot in my stomach. God never yells. God’s soft voice is often drowned out by the voice of desire.
Fast forward…i remember watching the repossession guy hooking my truck up to his truck and watching my dream truck being pulled away down the street.
Today is the first day of 2019! Many will be making resolutions to lose weight, eat better, spend more wisely and the list goes on. Goals are good. Plans are good. But the missing ingredient in many of our planning sessions is the ultimate question of ‘Where is God in my plans?
Each week we say the ‘Lords Prayer’ at our church. Each week we say “thy will be done” but in reality, our hearts are saying ‘my will be done.’ When our hearts are in tune with God’s heart our plans will naturally gravitate towards his desires and not our own.
Make 2019 the year that God shows himself mightily to you because you are close to his heart. Draw close to him and he’ll draw close to you.
There will be plenty of people out there to question your motives and make judgments on your actions. They will drag up your past, embellish your failures and mock any positive changes you attempt. People tend to remember your failures long before they remember your positive attributes. Sometimes the voices in your head are your own worst enemy and biggest critic.
To get the truth about a book you ask the author. To learn the workings of your car you ask a mechanic. To find out how your body works you ask a doctor. To find out who you really are, ask the creator. His word about you is completely reliable because he knows your heart and loves you in spite of it.
Many people spend their entire lives trying to meet the expectations of other people, but the only one that really counts is your Heavenly Father. The closer you grow to him, the more you risk being attacked by others, but the closer you grow to him the more confident you can be in who you are.
The heart of mankind is a fickle thing. Jeremiah calls it deceitful and wicked. Some of the biggest lies it tells are lies about ourselves and our relationship with God.
“It’s okay. Everyone does it God will understand and forgive.”
“Will God really deliver you? Remember what happened to uncle Billy”
“You don’t really think God can use you now, do you? You’re nothing but a failure. Always have been. Always will be.”
These are just a few of the lies. Which ones do you believe?
David knew failure. I doubt David trusted himself anymore than God did later in life. “Search my heart God. I don’t trust my own view of myself. I don’t trust how I feel. I certainly don’t trust my actions.
His prayer ends with the confident realization that once the examination was done, once the pain of revelation is past, then show me the next steps. Show me the path I need to become the person you can empower me to be.
Be brave enough to open yourself to a God whose only desire is to make you better; to show you the path to everlasting life.
Mike Fisk & Built with Grace 