If you ask my wife, she'll tell you that getting up in the morning is not one of the things I do best. In fact, for nearly thirty-eight years, she's been struggling to get me out of bed. But, for some reason, I woke up this morning at 5:00.
Actually, I know why I woke up at five, but normally when that happens, I go back to bed and back to sleep. But, this morning I was wide awake. As I lay there, I decided it would be a good time to talk to God. See, that's one of my problems. I like to talk to God. It's a problem, because I rarely give Him a chance to talk to me. This morning was different.
I actually shut up and listened to what God had to say to me. You know what? He did speak to me and He told me two things. They're not new things. I already knew them, but, they're hard to do. Here they are.
1. Shut up and listen!! How can God tell us what we need to know if all of our conversations with Him are actually monologues. "Help me, God. Here's a list of the things I need. If you've got anything for me, let me know. Gotta go. Nice talking to you." Then we turn on the TV, or the radio, or the I-Pod and wonder why we never get the answers we're looking for.
2. Stop trying to do everything yourself. He's God. He doesn't need our help. He has a plan for us. It's a good plan. It includes spending eternity in paradise. But, we have to let the plan work. We have to get out of God's way. That may be the most difficult thing for any of us to do. We want to be in charge. We want to be in control. But, we're not. God's in control. All of our efforts to run our own lives are like a hostile takeover. Relax. Let Jesus take the wheel. Are we so arrogant that we really think we know better than God?
I mentioned in my last post a conversation I had the other evening. This person doesn't like our Archbishop, Raymond Burke, because he has the nerve to tell us the truth. This guy doesn't like to be told what to do. Isn't that one of the problems with our society today? We're independent. We know best. We resent authority.
God loves us. He wants best for us. He knows.
The two messages I got this morning are really two sides of the same coin. If we just shut up and listen once in a while, we may just find out what God has in mind for us. Once we know that, shouldn't we stop trying to be God and put our lives into His hands? Isn't that what Jesus told us to do?
Actually, I know why I woke up at five, but normally when that happens, I go back to bed and back to sleep. But, this morning I was wide awake. As I lay there, I decided it would be a good time to talk to God. See, that's one of my problems. I like to talk to God. It's a problem, because I rarely give Him a chance to talk to me. This morning was different.
I actually shut up and listened to what God had to say to me. You know what? He did speak to me and He told me two things. They're not new things. I already knew them, but, they're hard to do. Here they are.
1. Shut up and listen!! How can God tell us what we need to know if all of our conversations with Him are actually monologues. "Help me, God. Here's a list of the things I need. If you've got anything for me, let me know. Gotta go. Nice talking to you." Then we turn on the TV, or the radio, or the I-Pod and wonder why we never get the answers we're looking for.
2. Stop trying to do everything yourself. He's God. He doesn't need our help. He has a plan for us. It's a good plan. It includes spending eternity in paradise. But, we have to let the plan work. We have to get out of God's way. That may be the most difficult thing for any of us to do. We want to be in charge. We want to be in control. But, we're not. God's in control. All of our efforts to run our own lives are like a hostile takeover. Relax. Let Jesus take the wheel. Are we so arrogant that we really think we know better than God?
I mentioned in my last post a conversation I had the other evening. This person doesn't like our Archbishop, Raymond Burke, because he has the nerve to tell us the truth. This guy doesn't like to be told what to do. Isn't that one of the problems with our society today? We're independent. We know best. We resent authority.
God loves us. He wants best for us. He knows.
The two messages I got this morning are really two sides of the same coin. If we just shut up and listen once in a while, we may just find out what God has in mind for us. Once we know that, shouldn't we stop trying to be God and put our lives into His hands? Isn't that what Jesus told us to do?
posted by Mike at 6:11 AM
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