This might come across as a bit strong, but it’s been one
of my pet gripes for many years, and I wanted to finally get it off my
chest.
WHY ARE CHRISTIANS SO LAZY!
I wouldn’t say I’m a strong type-A
personality, but I do like to be in charge, and I crave details. I love planning and organizing projects. But one thing I learned early in my ministry
was that God doesn’t always operate like that. He doesn’t usually give us the full plan up
front, because if we had it, what is the point of trusting in His provision and
grace?
However, something that really bugs me
about our Christian culture is that we are constantly “waiting on God.”
-We’re waiting on God to move, or to
show up.
-We’re waiting on God to get us a
better job, to fix our relationships, to bring our healing.
-We’re waiting on God to give us
permission to date, to bring us our spouse.
I am not saying that we shouldn’t rely
on God. Of course we should. But sometimes relying on God looks a lot like hard
work. God provides us with our daily bread. God gives us what we need. But for
the dreams he has given us, for the desires in our hearts, for the things that
give us joy and fulfill us, much of that is our responsibility. God provides
the wisdom, strength, and the good sense to follow the path He has laid before
us.
We have become lazy as a Christian
culture. If you look at anyone in scripture, what were they doing? Exactly,
they were DOING! God gave them a vision of their destiny, but they had to get
up and walk towards it. They had to take the steps towards the dream God had
given them.
In Joshua chapter 3 we read about the
Israelites preparing to enter the Promised Land. Sure they prayed and God told them to cross
the Jordan in a certain order, but only until they took that first step in
faith, and their feet touched the water, did the waters of the Jordan open up
for them.
Look at King David. He gets anointed as
King when he is a kid, and had to walk through a difficult struggle before the
crown was his. But during that time of walking forward, taking risks, knowing
and trusting God was with him, he matured and became able to step into his
royal mandate. (1 Samuel 16-2 Samuel 10)
And then there's Esther. God placed her in the
palace for “such a time as this,” to help save her people from the evil advisor
to the king. Do you think that if she was waiting for God to drop the playbook
in her lap that her goal was going to be accomplished? (Esther 1)
You want God to move in your city? Go
out and start telling people about Jesus. Start serving the poor, the widow,
the orphan, the outcast. Be the blessing they need. Stop waiting for God to
just intervene in their life; that is your
job. We are reminded in James 1:27 that, "Religion that God our Father accepts
as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their
distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." You are God’s hands and feet.
You want a better job, better marriage,
or to get healed? Do something about it! Look for the job that is going to be
life giving! Sit down with your spouse and talk! Go sit down with a mentor or accountability
partner and get some prayer. God is waiting to give you what you want and need,
but you have to take a step towards it.
You have to start asking for it. God
won’t give you what you don’t ask for. "And this is the confidence
that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears
us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have
the requests that we have asked of him." (1 John 5:14-15)
You want to ask that pretty girl or
cute boy at church on a date? Then DO
IT! I am so tired of people who
are tip toeing around dating and are too scared to hurt another person or be
hurt. I was like that all my life. Finally, when I was 41 years old I met
Alice. I asked her out immediately, and
I was so afraid I would lose her I began asking her to marry me within a
month. Ended up I had to ask her six
times before she said yes, but she did say yes, finally.
We are adults
(well, most of us anyway). Act like it.
It’s just dating, not premarital counseling.
All that, to drive home this point from
earlier:
Stop being lazy. Stop complaining that
nothing is happening. Do something. You have the Spirit of the Living God in
you. Take a step forward in faith and know God is with you. Don’t worry about
not knowing what God wants. If you want to know what He wants, begin to know His
ways.
When you are rooted in His ways, His
will is not much of a mystery: Love
God. Love people. Advance the Kingdom. It’s a simple as that.
Can God change your life?
God has made it possible for you
to know Him, and experience an amazing
change in your own life.
Discover how you can find peace
with God.
