One of the first things children learn to repeat is, “I want, I want.” Christians can also be like spiritual children, always telling the Lord in prayer, “I want!” James warned that selfish prayers will not be answered: ‘You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss that you may spend it on your pleasures’ (James 4:3). When our selfish prayers are not answered, we then decide that we will get what we want anyway! We step out of God’s will and get what we desire, but at what cost?

In the past many people had the call of God upon them, when they were young, but that call was often put to the side, so they could fulfil their dreams. If we are among that number, we then filled our lives with things that we hoped would make us happy, and then as the years passed, we become so busy with the things we wanted, that we had no time for the call and purposes of God!

Jesus’ teaching warns that it is possible to spend our whole lives fulfilling our, “I wants,” and then we end up completely missing the wonderful destiny He has for us. In one teaching, He explained that God is inviting us all to a great end time supper, where the final destiny of all time will be completed! However, each one said, “I’m sorry, I’m too busy with…” (Luke 14:18-20). Each person that Christ invited was busy with the things of this world, chasing their own hopes and dreams. They had no time for God’s purposes. Is it so different today?

We tell the Lord what we want in our lives, but do we ask Him what He wants? Then, if we don’t get what we want, we get angry with God and state, “I’m a Christian. I read my Bible. I pray…why am I not getting the things that I want!” Perhaps the things we want will make us very unhappy! Let’s remember that God’s Kingdom is not of this world and we are only passing through this life!

How many of us have spent our lives ignoring the principles of God and resisting His purposes? Then when things don’t work out - we blame God for our own mistakes! Instead of asking God to fit into our plans, perhaps we should be seeking Him for His plans. Then, when we are in His will, we will find the peace and joy in Him which we seek. We should be finding what God’s plan is for our lives, not hoping that God will somehow fit into ours!

Paul Backholer

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Jesus Today Go
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How Christianity Made the Modern World Go
Heaven - A Journey to Paradise and the Heavenly City Go