Let"s look at this problem more closely. The individuals mentioned above, who didn"t get what they wanted, made one common statement: "I deserved it, but I didn"t get it."
Too often, we Christians expect life to be perfect and for everything to go smoothly for us. We expect success, happiness, joy, peace, and everything else. When we"re thwarted, we pout or complain.
Although G.o.d does want us to have a good life, there will be times when we must be patient and endure not getting our way. These disappointments test our character and level of spiritual maturity. They actually show whether or not we truly are ready for promotion.
Why do we think we should always be first while others have to endure a lesser position? Why do we think we are ent.i.tled to the perfect life? Perhaps sometimes we think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. A humble mind enables us to take a back seat and wait for G.o.d to move us to the front. G.o.d"s Word says that we inherit the promises through faith and patience. Believing G.o.d is good, but can we continue to believe G.o.d and trust Him when we don"t feel that life is fair?
Satan plays with our minds. Most of the time, the evil one says negative things to us: "You don"t deserve it; you are worthless; you"re stupid." Once in a while, however, he tries a different trick: He tells us how hard we work or how much we"re ent.i.tled to. If we listen and believe, we may begin to feel cheated or believe that someone has taken advantage of us.
When we don"t get what we want, we fall apart, saying, "I deserved it!" We not only get angry with the boss, the teacher, or anyone else, but we sometimes get angry with G.o.d for not giving us what we felt we deserved.
The big mistake was to say we deserved it, because then self-pity creeps in when we don"t get what we want. We can take that att.i.tude, or we can recognize that we have a choice. I can choose to accept life the way it is and make the best out of it, or I can complain because it isn"t perfect.
I think of the story of Jonah-not the whale story-but what happened afterward. He had announced that in forty days, G.o.d would destroy the city of Nineveh, but the people repented. Because G.o.d listened to their cries, Jonah was angry. "Therefore now, O Lord, I beseech You, take my life from me, for it is better for me to die than to live" (Jonah 4:3).
Sad, isn"t it? Jonah would rather have been right than to see 120,000 people saved. Our situations aren"t usually that dramatic, but so many people would rather sit and feel sorry for themselves, listen to the whispers of Satan, and miss out with G.o.d than to simply trust G.o.d in every situation.
The secret of the Christian life is that we commit ourselves fully to G.o.d. If we surrender our wills to G.o.d, what happens doesn"t make us angry. If G.o.d doesn"t give us what we want and ask for, our faith is strong enough to say, "Not my will, but Yours."
G.o.d, help me. I often have strong desires, and when I don"t get what I want, I get upset. Forgive me. Remind me that Jesus didn"t want to die on the cross, but He lived in total submission to Your will. I ask You, through Jesus Christ, to help me live in total submission and be content with what You give me. Amen.
23.
No More Excuses Therefore if any person is [ingrafted] in Christ (the Messiah) he is a new creation (a new creature altogether); the old [previous moral and spiritual condition] has pa.s.sed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!
-2 CORINTHIANS 5:17 "I"ve always had a bad temper. That"s just the way I am."
"I"m a straightforward person. That"s who I am, and that"s how people need to accept me."
"I call things as I see them. I don"t sugarcoat anything."
This list could go on endlessly, but the one thing these excuses have in common is that each is meant to justify the people being the way they are. It"s a way of resisting change.
It"s also a way for Satan to creep into our minds. The great deceiver tells us that we"re not rude-we are just being honest, and people need to respect that quality in us. We think we speak the truth as we see it, and we"re not cowards or hypocrites. If the devil can convince us that we don"t have to change-that we"re fine exactly the way we are-he has won a serious battle in our lives.
In fact, the devil can give us a lot of excuses for not changing. That may be the problem. If he convinces us that other people are at fault because "they are just too sensitive" or "they don"t want to hear the truth and face reality," we don"t feel responsible, and we think we"re all right.
Another thing is that no matter how negative we may be in our thinking, most of us wouldn"t call ourselves "negative." We prefer words like logical, realistic, forthright, or candid. Not facing the truth about ourselves is part of Satan"s deceptive work.
When I went through a period of extreme negativity, I wouldn"t have thought of myself as being negative. I was just being honest. If I saw something wrong, I spoke up. I offered my counsel on ways for people to change. I could see the weaknesses and problems of others, and I was quite happy to show them how they could overcome. On my worst days, I found things wrong with all my friends and everything they did. I didn"t have to look for things to criticize-I did it without effort. I didn"t consider it negative because I thought I was merely trying to be helpful. It never occurred to me in my prideful state that people didn"t really want my help. They wanted acceptance and encouragement, not judgment and criticism.
As I said, I never thought of myself as being negative-that is, until G.o.d dealt with me and convicted me.
I"m not trying to condemn anyone for being negative, frank, blunt, candid, or whatever term you may use for it, because condemning is in itself being negative. Instead, I want to help believers recognize their att.i.tude problems and help them realize that G.o.d is able to deliver them.
We start the Christian life as new creations of G.o.d. Our past is wiped away. The Christian life is one of change-of growth-of moving onward.
The pathway to freedom begins when we face our problems, and face them without excuses. "Yes, I"m negative, but if you had come from the kind of family, I did, you"d-"
Stop! No excuses. We know what we were in the past, but we also know that we don"t have to remain that way now or in the future. With the help of Jesus Christ, we can have our minds renewed according to the Word of G.o.d.
The most difficult part may be to say to G.o.d, "I"m a negative person, but I want to change." Remember that a negative mind produces a negative life. You"ve probably tried to change yourself many times in the past, but it didn"t work. Now you can begin to win the battle over Satan"s stronghold by admitting who you are and acknowledging that you must depend on G.o.d to change you.
Holy and positive G.o.d, forgive me for all my negative thinking. You want me to be loving and filled with Your joy. Help me so that Satan has no stronghold over my mind. Please destroy every negative aspect of my thinking, through Jesus my Lord. Amen.
24.
Why This Negativity?
However, I am telling you nothing but the truth when I say it is profitable (good, expedient, advantageous) for you that I go away. Because if I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with G.o.d) and about judgment.
-JOHN 16:7-8 Years ago, I sat at a table with six public speakers. All of them had been in the ministry longer than I had, but G.o.d had given me more outward success than the others.
As the conversation went on, I realized I was doing most of the talking-telling one story after another. They all smiled, and no one acted as if they resented my dominating.
Afterward, I thought about my behavior. I had done nothing wrong, but I realized I had controlled the conversation, and I felt the Holy Spirit convict me. Although I wasn"t aware of it at the time, in retrospect, I realized that I had been rude and selfish by dominating the conversation. Taking control-that"s what I had done. Perhaps I was insecure and didn"t want them to see me as anything but confident and able. I may have talked too much because I was nervous with my peers. Perhaps I was just so full of myself that all I wanted to do was talk about myself, and what I was doing. A truly loving person is interested in others and always draws them into the conversation. I realize now that I wasn"t operating in love back in those days.
Most of the time, I stayed so busy talking about myself and my ministry that I never faced what was wrong inside me. I felt a little nudge from the Holy Spirit frequently, but I never really stopped to pay much attention.
Instead of looking at our own shortcomings and failures, we often focus on other people and what we think is wrong with them. That"s easier and less painful. As long as we can keep the focus on other people, we don"t have to examine our own hearts.
It"s not calculated, and I"m sure most of us are not aware of the reasons for our being negative. That"s also why negativity is so difficult to deal with. We undermine Satan"s attempt to establish a stronghold in our minds when we admit, "G.o.d, I"m a pessimistic person." That"s the beginning.
Then we cry out to the Holy Spirit to search our hearts. Jesus said of Him, ". . . He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with G.o.d) and about judgment" (John 16:8). Too often, we read the word world and smile. Yes, that"s for those sinners, those people who don"t know Jesus. That"s true, but it"s only partially true, because we also live in the world.
We-G.o.d"s people-need that conviction, as well. We need the Holy Spirit to probe deeply inside us and help us grasp why we"re afflicted with negative thinking. We probably know many nonbelievers who are naturally optimistic, and who never speak badly about others. Satan already has control of their minds, so he doesn"t even tempt them to be negative.
Think of it this way: Satan attacks us where we"re weak. Perhaps this will help explain what I mean. More than 100 years ago, William Sheldon began to study human body types and cla.s.sified them as distinct types. His research indicated that all of us are p.r.o.ne toward certain types of physical diseases. Those with the pear-shaped figure are more p.r.o.ne to heart problems and high blood pressure. I have a rail-thin friend, and when she gets sick, she comes down with a lung infection or bronchitis. She"s in her seventies, has a healthy heart, and is otherwise healthy-but she has weak lungs.
Let"s apply that principle to the spiritual realm. All of us have weaknesses-some of us are p.r.o.ne to pessimism, some to lying or gossip, others are by nature more deceptive. It"s not which person is worse, because all of us have our own weaknesses to conquer. We need the Holy Spirit to point out these shortcomings. Just because those are the natural places for Satan"s attacks doesn"t mean we can do nothing about them. Only as the Spirit convicts us can He deliver us from satanic attacks. That"s why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit-the Helper-because He helps us in our vulnerable places.
Holy Spirit of G.o.d, forgive me for thinking I can deliver myself. Don"t allow Satan to take advantage of my vulnerability, but deliver me so that I may be more fully given to You and used by You. I ask this through the name of my Savior, Jesus. Amen.
25.
Ready Minds Now these [Jews] were better disposed and more n.o.ble than those in Thessalonica, for they were entirely ready and accepted and welcomed the message [concerning the attainment through Christ of eternal salvation in the kingdom of G.o.d] with inclination of mind and eagerness, searching and examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
-ACTS 17:11 One of my much-published writer friends taught a series of cla.s.ses at a writers" conference on beginning writing. He wanted to reach people who felt G.o.d had called them to write and show them how to get their articles and books published.
At the beginning, he asked the attendees how long they had been writing and if they had ever published. Two women, who sat in the front row, said they had both been writing for almost twelve years, but had not yet published anything.
At the end of the first lecture, my friend overheard one of the women say to the other, "Oh, we know all of that. We don"t need to come back to this cla.s.s."
They may have already known the things he was teaching, but there was no evidence they had applied what they knew. He also commented that the most eager students in the cla.s.sroom were those who had already begun to publish. They wanted to learn and improve. Only people who are humble enough to continue learning will ever succeed.
That incident makes me think of an event in the book of Acts. The apostles Paul and Silas preached in Thessalonica, and the people tried to kill them, so believers helped them flee. From there, they went to the city of Berea. Luke records that the people there were fair in their thinking. They received the message "with all readiness," or, as I like to say, they had ready minds.
That means those were people who were open to G.o.d-they were willing to hear what G.o.d said, no matter whether it was good news or bad.
If I asked any group of Christians, "Are you ready-minded?" they would immediately say that they were. That"s what we a.s.sume being a Christian means-ready, open, willing to hear G.o.d, and to be obedient to what He says.
For many people, being ready-minded means that they are ready and open if the message is what they want to hear. If it"s not what they want to hear, they don"t try to kill the messengers like the Thessalonians, but they say, "Oh, we know all of that," and stop listening.
What does it really mean to be ready-minded? It means being willing to turn away from every lie and deception that Satan offers. It means being willing to say, "I was wrong." It means that instead of listening only for what we want to hear, we listen for what we need to hear.
To be ready-minded means we discern the source of the voice. We love to hear words that make us feel good and encourage us, but we don"t like words that make us aware of our shortcomings. In Satan"s battle for our minds, one of his tricks is to convince us that a message isn"t important or that we already know it. He may even say that the message is not correct, and by doing so, he prevents us from hearing what we really need in order to gain our own freedom.
For example, a pastor preached a sermon against gossip one day. He aimed his message at one woman-who delighted in telling people tales about others. What she didn"t know, she allowed her imagination to fill in. At the end of the service, she said to the pastor, "That was an excellent message. A lot of people in this church need to hear that."
The pastor said she wasn"t being sarcastic or hypocritical. She simply didn"t get the message. She didn"t have that ready mind-the mind that was open to receive a message of grace and help from G.o.d. It never occurred to her that she needed the message. To have a ready mind is not always easy. In fact, the more seriously the Holy Spirit wants to deal with us, the more Satan tries to convince us that we already "know all that" or it"s not something we need to hear.
Lord Jesus, please give me a ready mind. Enable me to hear You clearly and easily. Enable me to say, "Yes, Lord," no matter what Your Spirit has to say to me. I want to have a ready mind that pleases You in everything. I ask this in Your name. Amen.
26.
Positive Belief [For Abraham, human reason for] hope being gone, hoped in faith that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been promised, so [numberless] shall your descendants be. He did not weaken in faith when he considered the [utter] impotence of his own body, which was as good as dead because he was about a hundred years old, or [when he considered] the barrenness of Sarah"s [deadened] womb. No unbelief or distrust made him waver (doubtingly question) concerning the promise of G.o.d, but he grew strong and was empowered by faith as he gave praise and glory to G.o.d, fully satisfied and a.s.sured that G.o.d was able and mighty to keep His word and to do what He had promised.
-ROMANS 4:18-21 The story of Abraham amazes me no matter how many times I read it. It"s not just the birth of a son when he was a hundred years old. That"s a miracle. But just as amazing is the information that he waited twenty-five years for the fulfillment of the promise. He was seventy-five when G.o.d promised him a son.
I wonder how many of us would believe G.o.d and live in expectation for twenty-five years. Most of us probably would have said, "I didn"t really hear from G.o.d." "Oh, I guess maybe G.o.d didn"t really mean that." Or, "I need to go somewhere else to get a fresh word from the Lord."
Sarah and Abraham did have problems holding on to that promise. As a means of attempting to get what they wanted, they had Sarah"s handmaiden, Hagar, bear him a son, but G.o.d let him know that wasn"t the way it was going to be. I believe their actions delayed the arrival of G.o.d"s promised child.
In our impatience, we often take matters into our own hands. I say we get "bright ideas"-plans of our own, which we hope G.o.d will bless. These plans open the door for confusion and chaos. Then their results must be dealt with, which often delays our miracle.
When Moses came down from Sinai after having received the Ten Commandments from G.o.d, He saw the wickedness of the Israelites who had become impatient in waiting. In anger, he broke the tablets on which G.o.d had written the commands. Although we can understand Moses" anger, we must remember that it was not initiated by G.o.d. Therefore, Moses had to ascend Mount Sinai again and once more go through the process of obtaining the Ten Commandments. Moses may have enjoyed a momentary emotional release, but it cost him a lot of extra work. This is a good lesson for all of us. We must pray first and agree with G.o.d"s plan, not plan and pray that our plan will work.
It"s often difficult to believe G.o.d and hold on year after year after year.
Sometimes after my meetings, people come to me and tell me many sad stories. I encourage them to become positive and upbeat. Some people will listen to every word I say, nod, maybe even smile, and then they say the most negative word of all: "But . . ." With that single word, they are negating everything I"ve said. That"s not the spirit of Abraham.
The Bible gives us promises, hope, and encouragement. G.o.d promises good to those of us who serve Him. Despite the adversity of our circ.u.mstances-and some people have absolutely terrible situations-G.o.d still promises good. Our sense of goodness, however, may not be the same as G.o.d"s. Getting what we want immediately may not be best for us. Sometimes waiting is the best thing because it helps develop the character of G.o.d in us.
The Lord chooses to do good to us and to make us happy; the devil chooses to do wrong and to make us miserable. We can remain patient and keep believing G.o.d"s promises, or we can allow the evil one"s whisper to fill our ears and lead us astray.
Too many of us have ignored the fact that G.o.d is the originator of miracles. He specializes in doing the impossible: He provided a son to barren Sarah; He opened the Red Sea for the Israelites to walk across on dry land; He destroyed Goliath with a single stone from a slingshot. Those are miracles. That"s the Holy Spirit at work, defying the laws of nature (He made the laws, so He can break them).
Hebrews 11 is a chapter about faith and the people of G.o.d who dared to believe the promises. "But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to G.o.d must [necessarily] believe that G.o.d exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]" (v. 6).
As I consider that verse, I can see how the devil creeps in. He says to us, "Yes, that"s true. Those were special people. You are n.o.body. G.o.d won"t do anything special for you. Why should He?"
That is a satanic lie-and one that too many easily accept. G.o.d loves each of us, and the Bible says He"s our Father. Any good father loves to do good things for his children. G.o.d wants to do good things for you and for me.
Expect a miracle in your life. Expect many miracles.
Positive belief in G.o.d"s promises yields good results because the Good One sends them to us. Refuse to give up, and you will see the result of your positive belief.
Dear Father in heaven, forgive my lack of belief. Forgive me for allowing Satan to deceive me or make me think I"m worthless or unworthy of Your miracles. I am worthy because You made me worthy. You are the G.o.d of the impossible, and I ask You to help me wait on You and never give up. In the name of Jesus Christ my Lord, I pray. Amen.
27.
The Waiting G.o.d And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a G.o.d of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for his victory].
-ISAIAH 30:18 This verse has become one of my favorites, and it has often been a source of encouragement to me when I"ve had hard times. The Living Bible paraphrases the verse like this: "Yet the Lord still waits for you to come to him, so he can show you his love; he will conquer you to bless you, just as he said. For the Lord is faithful to his promises. Blessed are all those who wait for him to help them." Let"s think of the implication of the promise. G.o.d waits for us. As I think of that promise, it staggers my mind. The Creator of the universe and the Giver of all life has chosen to wait for us-waits for us to come to our senses, waits for us to respond to His love, waits for us to turn to Him for help.
That"s a staggering thought. G.o.d wants to show us love.
Perhaps as much as anywhere else, Satan attempts to build a mental stronghold right there. When we contemplate G.o.d"s love for us, many of us can"t take it in. We can only think of our failures, our shortcomings, and dozens of other reasons why G.o.d shouldn"t love us.
That reminds me of a kind man I"ve known for many years. One day he took care of a situation for me that he didn"t have to. I was surprised and deeply touched. "You are probably the kindest man I know," I told him.
He stared at me in shock. "Me? Kind? Oh, I can be mean-spirited and cruel," he said. For several minutes, he explained to me that he couldn"t possibly be a kind man. "I live with myself all the time, and I see all my defects."
"Maybe that"s the trouble," I told him. "You see your defects so clearly, you don"t see your caring, compa.s.sionate qualities. You discount all those things."
He never could accept that he was kind. I also used the word gentle and that surprised him, too.
Perhaps that"s how it is with many of G.o.d"s people. We are so absorbed by our failures and all the wrong things we see about ourselves, it"s hard to believe that G.o.d wants to bless us. If we read, "G.o.d wants to punish you," we wouldn"t have trouble saying, "Yes, that"s what I deserve."