Have you ever taken a slot machine mentality with God? You know, when you want God to supernaturally intervene or intercede into whatever is holding you back from what you want to do or what you want to happen. We take comfort in knowing that God's word tells us that God is our portion, our provider.
We say we want to reside in God, but residing implies we trust God's ability to provide; when God wants and how God wants. How can we reside in God, trusting God to provide, and yet continue to worry and fret? I find no solace in seeing others as double-minded as me. When you are wavering there is no comfort in being around others who are wavering too. Wavering is not residing.
Confidence in God is not to be confused with the hollow Sunday morning, "Oh we're fine. Yeah, everything's great!" I have seen some say, "God is good" through lips s so tight I almost laughed. It would be funny if it were not so serious.
Is God unaware of our struggles? There are Psalms you rarely hear read or preached in church because they are too real. They are gut level, coming from some dark room locked deep within our hearts. Those are the places where we are the most ashamed and the most afraid. They are the angry, ugly places and these are the places where God wants to meet us. God knows our pain, our questions, and our anger, but unlike us, God is not afraid.
When everything is going wrong do we yell at God as though it were God's fault? How can we demand our way and then blame God? Has a close friend every asked you why you let them do something stupid that had painful consequences? Hadn't you done everything you could do to prevent them from following through with their plans? Now they hold you responsible. This is not the time to plead your innocence or tell them how hard you tried to stop them. Just keep quiet and try to help them pick up the pieces and move on. Isn't that what you hope for when you screw up?
God stands quietly with us, ready to help us start again. Remember when Jesus looked at the lady caught in adultery and said, "Your sins are forgiven. Go and sin no more."
Honestly, I don't think being a follower of Christ is about keeping rules and following a list of commands. Paul tells us the purpose of the Ten Commandments and the law is to be a tutor, a mentor, a guide. They are not an end in themselves. Does God want you to make keeping the law your badge of accomplishment or does God want you to seek and know God? When love enters the relationship freedom becomes the gentle chains that bind us fast. It is amazing what we will not do when motivated by love. It is amazing what we will do when motivated by love. It is amazing that the Bible says we will be known by our love.
We may try, but we cannot reside in God with a slot machine mentality. The longer we reside in God the more grateful we'll become.
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