Sometimes life is crazy.
That much is true.
Sometimes you end up in a whirlwind of events that changes everything.
Sometimes you end up facing one of your biggest fears that you never thought you'd face - at least not this soon.
Sometimes you find yourself living a life that you would not have recognized a few months ago.
Sometimes you find yourself picked up and plopped down into another country.
That is how life finds me this fine evening.
God does have a way of doing that, doesn't he? He changes everything on us, and sometimes that leaves us wondering what happened.
You pray, "Lord grow me!", and he says "okay!" He stretches you until you feel like you're gonna tear apart. You say, "Why are you doing this, Lord! This hurts! Make it stop." He replies, "I am growing you...
Do you trust me?"
You pray, "Jesus make me more like you!" He says "okay!" He brings all kinds of trials and sufferings into your life. You say, "No, Jesus. I can't do this. Make it stop." To which he replies, "I suffered much. I am making you more like myself...
Do you trust me?"
You pray, "God, use me for your kingdom!" He says, "okay!" Then all kinds of people come to you for advice. You feel the weight of responsibility on your shoulders and you don't know how to help them. You are being spread thin. You say, "God, this is not what I meant! I can't do this. I can't help these people." He replies, "Of course YOU can't. You asked me to USE you. That is what I am doing...
Do you trust me?"
You pray, "Father, make me humble. Make me a servant leader like your son was." He replies, "okay!" He brings situations into your life that break you. You feel crushed, shattered, broken. "What was that?" you ask, "That was NOT what I meant! This is not okay." He replies, "Since when do I work by your standards? I LOVE you. I always have a better way...
Do you trust me?"
Do you? Do you trust him? He is GOOD. He has a GOOD plan. But it is not
easy,
or comfortable,
or fun,
or convenient.
But it IS good.
I encourage you to check out a blog post I wrote several months ago. You can find it here.
We have a really messed up view of good. Just think: when someone asks you if you had a good day, what is your definition of good? I bet it doesn't include being stretched until you feel like you're about to tear apart. But what is God's view of good? Yep, it's okay to pull the Sunday school answer out here. Jesus.
Jesus was good.
But was his life easy, or comfortable, or fun, or convenient? Not really. It was pretty much the opposite. He was mocked and ridiculed by many. He had no place to lay his head. He had no riches or glory. But his life was GOOD.
So what is the goal for us, as Christ-followers? The goal is to be more and more like Jesus, right? That's usually not gonna be the most fun thing we've experienced. It leaves us with this question:
Are you gonna change your definition of good, or your definition of God?
"Do you trust me?"
