I am not sure about you but when I hear great stories about how God is moving, I am often excited but that excitement is tempered wit ha healthy dose of skepticism. I long to see God move in these ways and do believe that He desires to move also. So, why do we not see it? Why does our "normal" Christian life so often look as powerless in the face of dire circumstances as the world looks? If God wants to heal, deliver and set free, why does it not happen? Why does half the Church point to Jesus' rebuke of the Pharisees as they sought a sign for the answer to this question and then come to the conclusion that sign and wonders are for a different time? They would often even say that we were wrong to look and ask God for signs and miracles. I have come to a much different conclusion lately though.
I believe that my tongue and my mindset are the two biggest reasons that I do not see God move more in signs and miracles. First I say the tongue because I realize that I so often use it for exactly the opposite of what God tells me to use it for. I easily fall into grumbling and complaining when things are not working to my satisfaction. We are told to praise in all circumstances. We are told to be thankful when we lift our requests to God. Too often though, I find myself complaining about how things are going or whining because they are not progressing according to my plan. My tongue is a battleground and I forget that it needs to be conquered to live in step with God's purposes. It can do more damage than I can do with my physical strength.
[Jas 3:5-6 ESV] 5 So also the tongue is a small member, yet it boasts of great things. How great a forest is set ablaze by such a small fire! 6 And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness. The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
Whining and complaining go along with a wrong mindset. I often feel the need to control circumstances. I want to dictate how things are going to happen to God instead of trusting His love and goodness to do what is best. I want my way. I do this because, in my mind, God is often too small or too uncaring to be trusted with the outcome. I have set myself up to judge the motives of God. Not only is that pride, which puts me at odds with God but it is also a lack of faith because I do not trust Him to be Lord of every circumstance.
As I go to the school, I am asking God to reveal and break every area of pride from my life. I am asking that He help me repent of a desire to be in control and the tendency to grumble and complain when things are not going my way. Most of all, I am asking Him to help me see the sufficiency of Jesus and His surpassing goodness in my life. I want to know Him as enough, as my true reward. I want to know what it means to be completely surrendered to Him without worrying about the cost. I want to live a life in love with Jesus so that others can see Him in me. I want a heart full of praise and gratitude as I learn to spend time gazing on the goodness of God. I want to learn to cease from my own striving to learn to rest in Him. Finally, I want to live in a place where people encounter Jesus because I have spent time in His presence and been fully transformed.
I am praying these things for myself and ask you to pray them for me. I believe that we serve a God who wants to transform the world with His love and He wants us to walk that out with Him. We have a Father that loves His children. We have a groom that died for His bride so that He could lead her into life and inheritance. We have a Holy Spirit living in and on us so that we can discern the leading of God and be at rest in Him. Please pray this for me when you think of it.
See you in the spring as I come to share new life and rebirth with you all.
