Luke 11:9
And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
I recently met a young man who was waiting on God. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
His life had been headed down a dangerous path, and he was waiting for God to rescue him. He had done nothing to get himself to a better place. He was just waiting. Waiting. Waiting. Waiting.
I admire people of faith. I think it's important to really believe; to live as if what you are believing is already truth. To trust God completely, fully, recklessly.
The problem comes when people exchange the guise of "faith" for the role of passivity.
Lack of action.
Zero responsibility.
The problem comes when people expect God to live for them, rather than to work through them.
I heard a joke once about a man who was drowning, but he had faith that God would rescue him.
A jet ski came by, but he declined saying "No thanks, God will rescue me!"
A rescue boat came by, but again, he declined saying "No thanks, God will rescue me!"
A helicopter came by, but a third time, he declined saying "No thanks, God will rescue me!"
And finally, he drowned. When he awoke to heaven he approached God and asked him, "But Lord, you promised to save me". To which God replied, "I tried...I sent a jet ski...and a rescue boat...and a helicopter..."
It might get you to crack a smile or even chuckle...but isn't there so much truth to this sometimes?
How many times do we allow our false ideas of faith to keep us from the places God wants us to go? "God will give me a sign...God will close the doors if it's not meant to be...God will bring him/her into my life...God will take away my feelings...God will help me out of this addiction..."
I know He can, but will he? Is that the kind of God you serve? Do we serve a God who acts on our behalf, or a God who gives us the strength and power to act on His?
I don't know about you, but I see my relationship with God as much, much larger than just a puppeteer interacting with his puppet.
God does ask us to trust Him with the things we cannot control...but he asks us to take action in the things that we can. He asks us to know Him, to love Him, and to honor Him...and then to live confidently in return.
We are called to take action, to make decisions, to live our lives, and to do what it takes to get ourselves where He wants us to be. Our connection with God is a two-way street, and like it or not: WE have a role in this relationship. We have a choice. We have a will. And with that will we can either say yes, or no. We can stop, or we can go. We can stay the same, or we can grow. Live in the old...or awake to the new.
It's important to trust God, to seek his wisdom, his power, and his strength. It's important to give him our worries and our fears and to trust Him with tomorrow...but it's just as important to allow Him to work in us and through us today.
Don't allow your fears, insecurities, and inadequacies to paralyze you in the name of false "faith". Real faith lives a life of action. Real faith is alive and active. Real faith takes responsibility and moves forward.
I trust Jesus. I trust Him with my tomorrow. I have faith that my life is in His hands. But you see that is the very faith that drives me to act. To choose. To live.
To Ask, To Seek, To Knock...
