Before I share my Preach Letter, I want to say to you
Christian believers in your 20s and early 30s, you make me happy, and I’m so impressed
by you and so thankful for your strength in the Lord. You are a generation of good
conscience, ethical morality, and respect. You are not afraid to stand up for
true Godly ways, and you really give the world a new hope. I love you and pray
for you. (from a fellow Christian in her 70s). Thank you!
WHEN THINGS DON’T TURN OUT HOW WE WANT THEM TO
It was December, and the rules of the contest were that
if you completed your year-long goal, you had a chance at winning the money. I
got an e-mail the night before, and I was a little nervous: “Were you able to
complete your goal?” (They remembered me. That’s a good sign, right?) I shot
back: “Yes, I did.” The next day was the meeting, and when they came to the
contest part, I was piqued.
But as hard as I had tried to see a positive picture of
me winning, it just wasn’t happening. As the negative thoughts kept popping up,
I’d force them away, and I quoted victory scriptures instead. The announcer
walked up to the microphone, “Okay, we have two people who completed the
challenge. The winner gets $40 and free meetings all year long.” It wasn’t so
much about the money as it was about winning something for my hard work and
achievement. “Oh good, only two of us,” I thought. But when she drew the name
out, it wasn’t mine! “OH NOOO! What happened?!”
All that positive praying and I just couldn’t make the
outcome be what I wanted. The truth is, I really knew it in my heart, but I
didn’t want to believe it. In this minor experience, I was reminded of a much
larger truth.
Sometimes the Lord’s messages to us are going to seem
negative and not what we want to hear. Instead of trying to force the positive
result with scriptures, if they aren’t doing anything, then we need to stop
pushing and just ask the Lord: “What’s going on?”
God, and Jesus too, expect us to have that kind of
relationship with them. I was trying to muscle through with my own will, but it
wasn’t to be. Next time this happens, I’m going to be more sensitive to the
situation and just ask, and save myself some grief.
My incident was small, but Ezekiel tells of a much graver
situation. The prophets didn’t like the messages God was giving about war
coming. They decided to enforce their own will and preached peace instead.
God said: “I will destroy you for these visions and lies.
My hand shall be against you, and you shall be cut off from among the leaders
of Israel; I will blot out your names, and you will never see your own country
again. And you shall know I am the Lord. For these evil
men deceive my people by saying, ‘God will send peace,’ when that is not my
plan at all!” (Ezek. 13:8-10)
When we pray about anything or anyone, we go for the
best, and that’s a good thing. But if, in our Spirit, we sense it’s honestly
not to be, let’s remember to stop and ask the Lord what’s up. He’ll let us
know.
Honest raw truth from the Lord is better than even the
slightest bit of “positive thinking” that is not true. The sooner we accept the
“negative” message from the Lord, the sooner we can deal with it and move
through it.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow
of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they
comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies”
(Ps. 23:4-5a).
If God needs to tell us negative things, He will do it,
but He also leads us through it, no matter what, and we “will dwell in the
house of the Lord for ever” (Ps. 23:6).
Love, Carolyn
I have published two Spiritual Life Workbooks and am
working on number three. They are designed to help Christians grow in spiritual
understanding and practical application. These books are packed with 52 short
true narratives (one for each week of a year) to inspire and enhance your
spiritual growth.
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