James 4:4-6
You people aren’t faithful to God!
Don’t you know that if you love the world, you are God’s enemies? And if
you decide to be a friend of the world, you make yourself an enemy of
God. Do you doubt the Scriptures that say, “God truly cares about the
Spirit he has put in us”? In fact, God treats us with even greater
kindness, just as the Scriptures say,
“God opposes everyone
who is proud,
but he is kind to everyone
who is humble.”
Scripture taken from the Contemporary English Version © 1991,1992, 1995 by American Bible Society, Used by Permission.
In my Jesus Calling®*
passage for April 11, the author (speaking as Jesus) says, “The best
way to handle unwanted situations is to thank Me for them.” I was
reminded of more than one recent report of an injustice that transpired
that seemed incredibly unfair to some of the parties involved…especially
children. How can we thank God when a child is being used as a pawn in
adult disagreements? How can we thank God when our loan has been
refused…we are slapped with exorbitant medical bills that require, at
best, a huge co-pay…or the business where we’ve been employed for
decades suddenly closes its doors? How can we thank God when He has
just called our loved one to Heaven and left us brokenhearted?
We
have a hard time being faithful in such moments. We want a “Burger
King®” kind of faith, where we are allowed to “have it our way” any time
of the day. How can we thank God when He doesn’t give us the desires
of our heart?
The bigger question is…”How can we NOT thank God?”
Don’t we get that we are telling God how to run things when we make
demands of Him? When we tell God, “You need to fix ABC or deal with Sam
or Sue,” we are acting as His enemy. We have decided that we know
better than God what needs to happen.
Instead, we should look at
“unwanted situations” and ask, “What are You trying to show me?” We
should humbly ask God to help us handle these events – and to show us
how He can be glorified by our actions and reactions to them. Jesus Calling®
explains that when we demonstrate such faith, we are freed from
resentment – and God is freed to work His ways into the situation and
produce a good outcome.
Is this easy to do? Absolutely not! But that’s
what makes it an act of faith! The more we let God have control in our
lives, the less hold the enemy has on us – and the closer we draw to
Him. When we humble ourselves before God and submit to His plans and
His will, we are free to bask in His glory and care…and to fully
experience His profound kindness. Don’t you want this in your life? I
know I do! Are you willing to fully surrender in order to get it?
Don’t you think you should be?
©2016 Debbie Robus
*www.JesusCalling.com
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