Act or React?

Act or React?

Ask yourself to finish this sentence: “If God is always good, then....”

“I won’t struggle financially”.
“My children won’t get sick”.
“People won’t be mean to me”.
“People won’t leave my church”.
“My prayers will be answered YES”.

We tell God show me and I’ll believe….

God says believe and I’ll show you.

The danger here is that we put yourself in a position to judge God Almighty.

Then it is a short step to where you put yourself in a position to judge Pastor Shane.

And a shorter step to where you put yourself in a position to judge your spouse. 

And this list goes on and on.  People believe they have a right to judge.

It is a terrible burden to believe you have a corner on God’s right. 

The last Pastor F.B. Meyer: “When we see a brother or sister in sin ~ there are two things we do not know: First, we do not know how hard he or she tried not to sin. And second, we do not know the power of the forces that attacked him or her. We also do not know what we would have done in the same circumstances.”

Every minute of every day I have a decision to make:

“Will I hold the love God as the standard in my relationships ~

no matter how misunderstood and mistreated I am?” 

I pray that I react as Jesus did when He was misunderstood and persecuted. 

The key to understanding this is to recognize that this physical world is temporary ~ and there is an eternal realm that we are responsible to. 

To react to this physical temporary world is to be short sighted and shallow.

However, to decide to “act” in a God pleasing manner ~ will bring honor and glory to God in the spiritual eternal realm ~ where God’s Word says we can lay up eternal treasurers. 

“Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. ² Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:1-2 NLT

PRAYER:

“Father, I am asking that you teach each one of us to act in a way that reflects the attitudes and actions of Your Son, Jesus. 

Please give us patience and the ability to see our relationships from Your perspective.

May our attitudes and actions bring a smile to Your face.

I ask this in Your Son’s name, Amen!”