There have been many times in my life when I found myself on my knees asking God for answers to some of life's toughest questions.
* Lord, why did this happen to me?
* Will this sense of loneliness ever end?
* How can I be a better parent to my children?
The questions change depending on the particular need or crisis, but the pattern is typically the same. A challenge or hardship comes our way and we feel as though we are at our ropes end. We don't know where to turn, or how to find the answers to the problems we face. It is in those moments of deep desparation we turn to God.
Then comes the fun part. "O.K God, I prayed about it. I asked for your help - now it is time for you to fix everything." While I have fallen into that pattern far too many times myself, I hope that on a few occasions I had the clarity of thought to "search for the answers." God did not provide his divine will so that we could keep our leather bound, thumb-indexed editions of his word setting neatly on our coffee tables.
The writer of Hebrews was right when he said, "For God's Message is full of life and power, and is keener than the sharpest two-edged sword. It pierces even to the severance of soul from spirit, and penetrates between the joints and the marrow, and it can discern the secret thoughts and purposes of the heart." (WNT) Sometimes I imagine God just sitting there, shaking His head saying, "Just like a man, he still hasn't read the instruction manual."
Often times we behave like small children. We want very short, simple answers to the most complex questions. God longs for us to pour our hearts out before Him, but he also expects us to make an effort to find the answers he has placed right before our eyes.
* Lord, why did this happen to me?
* Will this sense of loneliness ever end?
* How can I be a better parent to my children?
The questions change depending on the particular need or crisis, but the pattern is typically the same. A challenge or hardship comes our way and we feel as though we are at our ropes end. We don't know where to turn, or how to find the answers to the problems we face. It is in those moments of deep desparation we turn to God.
Then comes the fun part. "O.K God, I prayed about it. I asked for your help - now it is time for you to fix everything." While I have fallen into that pattern far too many times myself, I hope that on a few occasions I had the clarity of thought to "search for the answers." God did not provide his divine will so that we could keep our leather bound, thumb-indexed editions of his word setting neatly on our coffee tables.
The writer of Hebrews was right when he said, "For God's Message is full of life and power, and is keener than the sharpest two-edged sword. It pierces even to the severance of soul from spirit, and penetrates between the joints and the marrow, and it can discern the secret thoughts and purposes of the heart." (WNT) Sometimes I imagine God just sitting there, shaking His head saying, "Just like a man, he still hasn't read the instruction manual."
Often times we behave like small children. We want very short, simple answers to the most complex questions. God longs for us to pour our hearts out before Him, but he also expects us to make an effort to find the answers he has placed right before our eyes.
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