We know that all things work together for good to those who love God . . . —Romans 8:28
It is only a faithful person who truly believes that God sovereignly controls his circumstances. We take our circumstances for granted, saying God is in control, but not really believing it. We act as if the things that happen were completely controlled by people. To be faithful in every circumstance means that we have only one loyalty, or object of our faith— the Lord Jesus Christ. God may cause our circumstances to suddenly fall apart, which may bring the realization of our unfaithfulness to Him for not recognizing that He had ordained the situation. We never saw what He was trying to accomplish, and that exact event will never be repeated in our life. This is where the test of our faithfulness comes. If we will just learn to worship God even during the difficult circumstances, He will change them for the better very quickly if He so chooses.
Being faithful to Jesus Christ is the most difficult thing we try to do today. We will be faithful to our work, to serving others, or to anything else; just don’t ask us to be faithful to Jesus Christ. Many Christians become very impatient when we talk about faithfulness to Jesus. Our Lord is dethroned more deliberately by Christian workers than by the world. We treat God as if He were a machine designed only to bless us, and we think of Jesus as just another one of the workers.
The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through us. God calls us to His service and places tremendous responsibilities on us. He expects no complaining on our part and offers no explanation on His part. God wants to use us as He used His own Son.
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Excerpt from God Letters, 101 Devotionals for Sinners and Hypocrites Just Like Me – 2008-J D Vaughn
Trust and faith are the ingredients we lack. For some reason many of us feel that if we gave up our control for God’s will for our lives, He would make us missionaries in outer Mongolia, or He would turn us into some uptight version of the “church lady” full of judgment and pious hypocrisy. For some reason we think we have a better idea of what will fill our lives with joy and fulfillment, and that God can be this cosmic killjoy that simply wants to ruin our fun… (Shh!—if God ever finds out I am having fun here, I am certain He will make some adjustments). But consider
for a moment that God invented fun and humor and if you don’t believe it, then consider a giraffe or duck- billed platypus.
God wants us to laugh and have fun. He wants the very best for us as well. He told us He came to give us life and life more abundantly.
God knows the future—our very perfect futures that include our greatest levels of joy and fulfillment. I am convinced He is prepared and waiting for us to let go and let Him give us the ultimate fulfillment and joy for our lives.
We have written promises that tell us God arranges all things for our benefit and that He can do more than we could ever dream or imagine. He is waiting to be our guide. What is the God of the universe waiting for? He is waiting for us to agree that He should be in charge of our lives and for us to “let go” just long enough for Him to take hold.
At the end of the day, I think He is simply waitring for us to surrender.
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