When things go well

How come when things are not going well in our lives that we spend a lot of time in prayer or even blaming God but when it is all smooth sailing God is pushed aside or forgotten? I have told the following story before, so I do apologize to those who have already heard it. Matthew, my son, who at the time was just learning to read, had downloaded an internet game from a safe site and was playing. Soon he got stuck and could not continue and he cried out to his daddy. I came along and started to read the instructions out loud for him. Not far into the reading, Matthew got the gist of the game and pushed me aside stating that he has got it. I had to stand back and watch him go boldly forward only to get stuck again because he did not hear the full instructions.

It dawned on me that we as Christians are just like this. While trying to live our lives we soon get into a rut and call out to our heavenly Father for help. He starts to show us how to get out of our problem but as soon we get the idea of where He is going, we push Him aside saying to God that we can handle it from here, thank you very much. We treat God as a Mr Fixit and only call on Him when something needs fixing. We tend to forget about God when things are going well.

The second part of the Legend of Joe Jacobson, Return of the Dreamer, deals with just this. Joseph’s life had changed from dreadful to unsurpassed and he did not forget God. How did he do it? He was confident that God was with him in all things. I must admit that it is very difficult to live each day as if God is with me when God is blessing me and my family. Andy Stanly asks the question “When things are going well, are you failing the Test of Prosperity?

Andy gave us three points to help us pass this test when things are looking up for us . . .

- Publicly Declare: Break the silence, give credit to the rightful one, God. You got to go public with your dependence on God.

- Leverage: It was never yours to start off with. God did not bless you because of you or for you, but he blessed you to be a blessing to others.

- Reminders: Find a way memorize where we came from and how God has brought us to where we are now. To be always reminded of what God has done for us.

Let Go and Let God
Jerome

What would you change?

If God is with us, then we have no reason to be troubled about the circumstances we find ourselves in, be they at the top of the wave or at the bottom of the trough.

We started a new series of Andy Stanley called The Legend of Joe Jacobson. It is story of Joseph, son of Jacob told in a way never heard before. Andy asked the big question "What will someone in your current circumstances do if they were absolutely confident that God is with them?" Whatever you facing right now, what would you change if you knew with out doubt that God was with you?

Chris Brown asks these questions on a website in response to this question…
What would you change?
Would you risk more?
Would you be more generous?
Would you sign that business deal or pass on it?
Would you move . . . stay where you are?
Would you break up . . . stay together?
Would it change anything about the way you are parenting, or living?

What would you do if you knew God was with you?