By David Brenneman
Facebook is replete with "Name it and claim it" posts.
It's replete with goading people into "like and share" to prove something to everyone on there about a person's faith in miracles or in God's provision.
"It is absolutely right to think that God can do miracles today.
It is absolutely wrong to try to schedule them." - Dr. David Jeremiah
There's great Biblical examples of the many miracles of Jesus Christ.
There's also the many examples of people's wrong views of Jesus, that He trusted not Himself to man because He knew the heart of mankind.
While God does grant faith that a healing might happen, it doesn’t follow that we tell Him when it will happen.
We also must accept the truth that even death is considered a healing by God. For those in Christ Jesus death is nothing but a doorway to our true home in Heaven.
If indeed God's calling someone to come home, why would it be right to keep them here?
King Hezekiah's family would have been so different had he accepted the Word of God that his time on Earth was done. He thought mostly of himself in his pleas to God about the ending of his life. God adds 15 years to it and some of the most vial, evil, ancestors were born that came from him.
We cannot hold a view of God that isn't true. While we are to hold to the promises of God, we are to accept the will of God in relationship to it. His Will is our sanctification. It isn't in any stretch of the imagination our health, wealth or prosperity. It isn't in granting our every wish. In no way should we degrade the Holy position of God with treating God like His job is our every whim.
We should never ever do that.
We should never, even in "fun", participate in such things. It easily leads the unbelieving astray. It easily causes people weak in the faith to stumble and become shipwrecked in their faith. To be delusional about who and what Jesus is.
There's no "joking" about the things of God or of His Christ.
Paul wrote to many concerning the seriousness of walking in the faith as the Spirit leads. Of the truth that we are at war in the flesh and at war against the powers of darkness.
We cannot afford to give ground to the enemy of God. We are to take every single thought captive to the glory of God. A single thought can shipwreck someone's faith. As someone wrote, a single pebble, properly placed, can change the course of a mighty river.
Satan will always twist and abuse the Word of God. He quite clearly gets Believers tricked into helping him do so!
Look at our interwoven world. Look at how quickly a single thing typed or viewed online either points people to Christ or away from Him. Look at how quickly people react either positively or negatively to posts.
God doesn’t abide by our trying to schedule His blessings either.
Ever stop to realize how your requests can alter the Plan of God in asking for a blessing, let alone a prayer for anything?
Our model prayer includes: Thy Will be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Jesus, in praying to His Father: Not My Will, but Yours be done.
We shouldn't try to force God to respond when it's not in His Will to respond.
Life indeed might be hard and difficult. Remember the Scriptures. We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that we might walk in them. Our purpose is to obediently do the work that He's prepared for you and I to do if we are indeed in Christ.
It may include a rough life. It might not. It may mean barely eeking out a living.
Paul taught to be content in any and all circumstances. Our reward is in Heaven. Our life is hidden in Christ Jesus. Our treasure is in Heaven.
We easily can hurt our walk with Jesus by constantly asking for what isn't His Will for us.
As someone else also has said, the absolute best place to be is in the center of God’s Will for you.
Go all the way back to Genesis. We are all descendants of Adam and Eve. We read what Jesus told them. By the sweat of his brow he would toil all his days. Life was going to be hard. Health, wealth and prosperity were going to have to be WORKED for. The ground wasn't going to yield its best for them any longer.
On more than one occasion Jesus did miracles and they were going to try to make Him King by force. Not because of who He was, but to continue in the blessings without working.
Prayer ought to always include His Will being done rather than ours.
Prayer indeed includes heartache and heartbreak because of what is happening.
Prayer can prepare a heart to receive the Will of God.
We have no idea just what's around the corner from where we are in life that God's needing of us to be doing. Trying to push our Will in life isn't going to have us in His Will in life.
Christians are to be Christ-followers. Followers. To follow means not to lead.
We are quick to jump on the promises of God, but don't forget all of them.
We are promised that since the world hated Jesus they would hate us too.
We are promised that in this world we will have tribulation, but to be of good cheer, He has overcome the world.
We are promised more things to happen to us in order to become more like Christ. Painful things because sin hurts! If indeed we believe that the wages of sin is death, then the consequences of sin are great if we continue in them rather than in obedience to Christ Jesus.
God is Holy. God isn't your personal genie, or butler. He's not going to give you answers to prayer that aren't in His best interests for your growth in Jesus Christ. His Will is to make you more like Christ, not necessarily to make you happy in the process. Surgeries can be painful, let alone the recovery.
Pray instead that God creates in you a new heart, one that is set on Him.
Pray instead for His Will to be done on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Pray instead for your sanctification in Christ Jesus.
Pray that He reveals Himself to you in the way you ought to see Him.
Pray that you be content in whatever He brings your way. He may leave you in it or move you out of it. But it should be His decision since you are His workmanship.
Keep a right view of God.
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