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| The River Raisin, in Monroe |
A friend once shared with me that they were losing their faith in God because things have not worked out the way they wanted them to. But this friend is their own worst enemy, the cause of much of their failure. They made choices that brought them disappointment.
They are like someone who knows smoking can cause lung cancer, smokes anyway, develops lung cancer, and then complains that things have turned out this way.
Years ago I heard John Maxwell tell a story about a CEO who had this sign on their desk: If you could kick the one person most responsible for your problems, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week. I wrote that in my journal, because it spoke truth to me.
Not all my trials have been self-caused, but many are. So, like Thomas Merton, I began to pray, "Lord, save me from myself." (Korn guitarist Brian Welch prayed this, too.)
I sought counsel for my issues, and healing of ways I was undermining the work of the Spirit in me.
I began spending more time praying in God's presence.
I joined up with a small group, and never missed Sundays when my church family gathered.
God was freeing me from a spirit of victimization. (I'm not 100% there yet.) At this point in life, I don't find myself blaming others for my problems.
I don't find myself disappointed with God. (See Philip Yancey's Disappointed with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud)
I told my friend to try some of these things, continuously. Relentlessly. Only then will they come to know the great truth that, through the trials, God still works all things together for good.
The word 'redemption' means: to take a lemon, and make lemonade. Our God is a Redeemer. He works all things together for good. Return to God today and discover his redemptive presence.
***
My first two books are...
Praying: Reflection on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God (May 2016)
Leading the Presence-Driven Church (January 2018)
I am now writing...
Technology and Spiritual Formation
How God Changes the Human Heart: A Phenomenology of Spiritual Transformation
They are like someone who knows smoking can cause lung cancer, smokes anyway, develops lung cancer, and then complains that things have turned out this way.
Years ago I heard John Maxwell tell a story about a CEO who had this sign on their desk: If you could kick the one person most responsible for your problems, you wouldn't be able to sit down for a week. I wrote that in my journal, because it spoke truth to me.
Not all my trials have been self-caused, but many are. So, like Thomas Merton, I began to pray, "Lord, save me from myself." (Korn guitarist Brian Welch prayed this, too.)
I sought counsel for my issues, and healing of ways I was undermining the work of the Spirit in me.
I began spending more time praying in God's presence.
I joined up with a small group, and never missed Sundays when my church family gathered.
God was freeing me from a spirit of victimization. (I'm not 100% there yet.) At this point in life, I don't find myself blaming others for my problems.
I don't find myself disappointed with God. (See Philip Yancey's Disappointed with God: Three Questions No One Asks Aloud)
I told my friend to try some of these things, continuously. Relentlessly. Only then will they come to know the great truth that, through the trials, God still works all things together for good.
The word 'redemption' means: to take a lemon, and make lemonade. Our God is a Redeemer. He works all things together for good. Return to God today and discover his redemptive presence.
***
My first two books are...
Praying: Reflection on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God (May 2016)
Leading the Presence-Driven Church (January 2018)
I am now writing...
Technology and Spiritual Formation
How God Changes the Human Heart: A Phenomenology of Spiritual Transformation
