Don't Be Surprised

I remember when I was a kid, a very long time ago, and I would ask my parents for something. Usually that meant my mom, naturally. I would beg and plead and promise whatever it took to get the answer I felt I deserved. Maybe it was just to go see a movie with my friends or something I saw in a store that I just knew I had to have. I learned early on that she was easier to persuade than my dad, so that is the tactic I took. Most of the time, I was successful. I always went to her assuming I would win and get what I wanted. I just never assumed the answer would be “no”. If that was her initial answer, then I would continue asking until I either got what I wanted or I figured out that this time she really meant “no’’. Much later in life I could look back and see that either my strategy was wrong or what I wanted wasn’t right for me.

How often do you ask God for something and, when you don’t get it within your time frame, you give up or just assume that he isn’t going to give it to you. Maybe you are telling yourself that just because you want it doesn’t mean God will grant your request. Perhaps you don’t feel worthy or the past history of not getting the right answer has given you a defeatist attitude. If someone you love came up to you and asked for something special and then closed by saying that they don’t think you will really give it them, but they had to try, how inclined would you be to say, “Yes”? God looks at us the same way. He is willing to do or give whatever we want or need, as long as it is in our good interest. He wants us to be positive and enthusiastic about getting his gifts. However, if you are telling him you don’t believe in his goodness and generosity, then why should he give you what you want?

There are two answers to that last question. If you don’t believe you will get it, then you probably won’t. After all, he wants us to believe in him and if we don’t, then why reward us? The other answer is that he will give it to us anyway. Why? Perhaps it is just to show us that he does love us and he does care. Not only does that generosity reward us, but it also teaches us that we need to believe even when we don’t think we will receive what we request.

Jesus told us we need to come to God like little children. Little children are full of belief, they never doubt. Look at them at Christmas or on their birthday! They absolutely know what they are going to get, they never doubt it for a minute. We need to be the same way when we approach God and ask him for something. He loves us. He wants us to have it all.

So, why do we doubt and spoil it? For the answer to that question, you have to look in a totally different direction. You have to look to the Father of All Lies, Satan himself. He is the one whispering in your ear, putting doubts in your mind. He is the spoiler. If he can create doubt and stop your belief, then he wins and you lose. If God doesn’t reward the doubter, then it just becomes a self-fulfilling prophesy. Over time it can build until you just assume God doesn’t like or love you. The score becomes Satan “1”, You “0”. It is an easy trap of which you can become the victim.
So, how do you defeat Satan? When you are asking God for something, and all of the negative thoughts start to assault you from all sides, STOP! Take stock and realize where those negatives are coming from. You have to deliberately change your thoughts to the positive and ask God for his help to banish them from you…and send Satan packing.

Don’t, then, be surprised when your most loving parent says “Yes”. Maybe you had to ask just once or many times. When the time is right, when you are ready, then unwrap that present, tear off the bow rip the paper, and have joy in his generosity. Don’t’ forget to look at the card…it will be signed, “Love, God”.

Some Assembly Required

Genesis 2:7 “the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground.”

When my kids were growing up, I had that distinct fatherly pleasure of putting together various things like doll houses and bicycles and other wonderful presents. At times, it meant giving up a considerable amount of sleep because the work had to be done after they went to sleep. Like most fathers, I grew to hate that small note on the label that read, “Some assembly required” and it should the simple hand tools that were necessary, like a screwdriver, pliers, and adjustable wrench. It failed to mention that an advanced degree in construction engineering was a definite plus. Of course, after the time of assembling toys passed, it then became fun activities such as furniture. My wife would pick out a really nice piece at the store and when it was delivered to the house, there were several boxes and that same wonderful phrase.

We all know that we have been formed, male and female, in the likeness of God. He took great care to select his design, body and soul, for his best creation. The Bible just says that he formed us from the dust of the ground without additional details. I wonder if he took the dust, added some water and then formed it like modeling clay into a variety of shapes until he got it just right. In any case, we are the results of that miracle of granting life. Of course, we also know that since we started out as dust, it is to dust that we shall return.

God starts us out as babies fresh from the womb, with only the life that he gave us, including our immortal soul. It is up to our parents to teach us and guide us from that point to our adulthood. They are assembling us in our knowledge and abilities. Once we do reach that point in our lives where we move out on our own, it then becomes our responsibility to continue the job. The first paragraph talks of assembly jobs that are eventually completed, but the assembly of our self is an ongoing process. We are always adding or deleting as we fine tune us physically, mentally and spiritually.

It is that last point that ultimately becomes the most important. We can grow up in almost any environment and develop physically and mentally. There are or can be huge differences in the quality, but those developments will happen in spite of what we do. It is the spiritual aspect of our assembly that requires special care and attention. In order to know God, to know Jesus Christ, to know the Holy Spirit, we have to have guidance. That may come from parents, friends, a chance meeting with a stranger. Regardless of how it happens, God will give us the opportunity to know him and to serve him. He will make sure of it and he will do it as often as necessary to get out attention. God created us and he did it in such a way to give us the opportunity to be with him for eternity. He wants us to be with him in heaven. It pains God beyond imagination every time one of his creations turns his back on him and chooses to spend that eternity with the devil in hell.

How are you doing with your assembly? What tools are you using to put yourself together in the best way? How often do you pick up the bible and actually read it? Do you have a spiritual leader, a priest, a minister, or someone who can guide you in your task? Are you doing the task in a haphazard way or are you following the directions to the letter? Are you preparing yourself for that final inspection on your last day so you tell God, “Assembly completed and ready to join you”?