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ASHTON WRITES!
Tuesday, October 20, 2009 @ 10:27 AM by Joni Parsley
Ladies and Gentlemen…another guest writer for this week! Ashton was journaling this piece on Sunday, and I thought it would be a great thing to share. It certainly was pointed and spoke to me! It’s a timely word to every child of God so without further adieu…Here’s Ashton!
God Can Only Take It So Far…
It never ceases to amaze me how the body of Christ feels the need to beg God – why they feel the need to convince God that they deserve what it is that they’re pleading with Him for. Are we not all aware that, of course, we do not deserve anything that God gives us? We are but lowly sinners. Luckily though, God understands that we are sinners by the nature of our own self-will. Therefore, He has employed His two great sisters of forgiveness – Mercy and Grace – to aid us in our fleshly struggles. Yet even still, Christians find it necessary to confront God with a need as though they were a child asking “Mother, may I?” Those of us mature in our spirituality should already know that God’s answer is ALWAYS, “Yes, you may!” So why do we continue to throw needy tantrums at God’s throne like a kid at a candy store? He has already done His part. He already answered our prayer before we even uttered it. What’s missing in this equation of blessing is our realization that God can only take it so far. God will do what He said He would do, but only if WE do what He said we SHOULD do. We cannot expect God to move on our behalf if we are operating in disobedience. God’s favor is dependent upon our submission to His will and His word. Now this is not to say that God “punishes” us for our sin by “withholding” our blessing – He’s not grounding us. But it is to say that if we keep asking God for a need to be met and said need is still unfulfilled, perhaps we should examine ourselves. Maybe we need to look at our heart’s reflection through God’s consecrated mirror and figure out where it is we’re hindering Him, rather than so ignorantly thinking God’s choosing to hinder us. In the words of my dear old dad, “Obedience is the key to blessing.” So Selah on that the next time you and I go before God, kicking and screaming for a need to be met. Because it’s not Him….it’s us.
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