A blank check for God
So I've been doing these daily devotionals, and I was just going through them to forward some to Jenny, and I found this one that hit me between the eyes like a ton of bricks. Some of you know that I got some news that was a maaaaaaajor blow to me last week, and that I've been really angry at God in the days that have followed... But I've had to remember that lashing out at Him is exactly what the devil wants.... And this devotional is the answer. Because there are things that are important, it doesn't mean that God owes them to me because I've fought for them, or because I want them, or because I've lived a decent life. I haven't EARNED anything that I've ever had. God has given me things through my life and taken them away, and the hard part is coming to the realization that nothing I can do can change anything. I'm not in control. When the Bible says, "Die to yourself," it means be willing to give Him those dreams and hopes that make us who we are. Even the deepest hopes and biggest events and plans we have.
And I say this as I watch "Welcome to Mooseport," about the guy who dates his girlfriend for 6 years and never marries her, so she goes out with the President of the United States. If only I were so lucky. :) Some things are just meant to be thorns in our sides until what time God sees fit to relieve us of them, I suppose.
So I gave God the blank check this morning. I'm through trying to drive or negotiate or wrangle the situation that has been more important than any other in my whole life. I need to trust that He's big enough to handle it right and He loves me enough to do what's best for me. I've had too many dreams die and too many situations make me feel insignificant, and I realize now it's because I want to control things, and I'm too little.
Jesus, take the wheel......
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (v. 42)
-- For reading & meditation: Luke 22:39-48
We have seen over the past two days how Jesus, when faced with the news that some Greeks wanted to interview Him, appeared to be precipitated into a spiritual crisis. Whatever we make of this incident in the life of our Lord, it is fairly obvious that some deep struggle is going on inside Him. And the terms of that struggle are also clear: "What shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour" (John 12:27). This passage in John 12 underlines most powerfully the humanity of Jesus. We see Him recoiling for a moment and only for a moment - from the grim ordeal that He was about to face on Calvary, but He comes through to reaffirm His unswerving commitment to His Father's eternal will and purpose. Note once again the truth that seemed to sustain Him in this dark and crucial hour: "I must fall and die like a grain of wheat that falls between the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone - a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat grains - a plentiful harvest of new lives" (John 12:23-24, TLB). He gave a blank cheque to God signed in His own blood. He would fall into the ground and die and bear a rich and bountiful harvest. He aligned Himself with self-giving and not self-saving. The momentous issue with which our Lord struggled in that hour is similar to the one which you and I are being called to face in these meditations - to die or not to die. The way we respond to it will determine our life-direction.
Prayer:
Father, I sense that quietly things are heading toward a moment of crisis in my life - a crisis of commitment. Help me to see these things, not merely as a matter for discussion, but a matter for decision. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen. ..>..>
For further study:
Philippians 2:1-8; Psalms 40:8; Psalms 40:8; 6:;
1. What was God's will for His Son?
2. How did Jesus respond?
And I say this as I watch "Welcome to Mooseport," about the guy who dates his girlfriend for 6 years and never marries her, so she goes out with the President of the United States. If only I were so lucky. :) Some things are just meant to be thorns in our sides until what time God sees fit to relieve us of them, I suppose.
So I gave God the blank check this morning. I'm through trying to drive or negotiate or wrangle the situation that has been more important than any other in my whole life. I need to trust that He's big enough to handle it right and He loves me enough to do what's best for me. I've had too many dreams die and too many situations make me feel insignificant, and I realize now it's because I want to control things, and I'm too little.
Jesus, take the wheel......
"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." (v. 42)
-- For reading & meditation: Luke 22:39-48
We have seen over the past two days how Jesus, when faced with the news that some Greeks wanted to interview Him, appeared to be precipitated into a spiritual crisis. Whatever we make of this incident in the life of our Lord, it is fairly obvious that some deep struggle is going on inside Him. And the terms of that struggle are also clear: "What shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour" (John 12:27). This passage in John 12 underlines most powerfully the humanity of Jesus. We see Him recoiling for a moment and only for a moment - from the grim ordeal that He was about to face on Calvary, but He comes through to reaffirm His unswerving commitment to His Father's eternal will and purpose. Note once again the truth that seemed to sustain Him in this dark and crucial hour: "I must fall and die like a grain of wheat that falls between the furrows of the earth. Unless I die I will be alone - a single seed. But my death will produce many new wheat grains - a plentiful harvest of new lives" (John 12:23-24, TLB). He gave a blank cheque to God signed in His own blood. He would fall into the ground and die and bear a rich and bountiful harvest. He aligned Himself with self-giving and not self-saving. The momentous issue with which our Lord struggled in that hour is similar to the one which you and I are being called to face in these meditations - to die or not to die. The way we respond to it will determine our life-direction.
Prayer:
Father, I sense that quietly things are heading toward a moment of crisis in my life - a crisis of commitment. Help me to see these things, not merely as a matter for discussion, but a matter for decision. In Jesus' Name I pray. Amen. ..>..>
For further study:
Philippians 2:1-8; Psalms 40:8; Psalms 40:8; 6:;
1. What was God's will for His Son?
2. How did Jesus respond?