Getting What We Want by Joyce Meyer - posted November 12, 2013 Lean on, trust in, and be confident in the Lord with all your h and mind and do not rely on your own insight or understandi all your ways know, recognize, and acknowledge Him, and He direct and make straight and plain your paths. —Proverbs 3:5–6 I usually know what I want, and I like to get it. I’m exactly like people. When we don’t get what we want, our negative feelin up. (And remember those feelings began with thoughts.) “I drove across town to buy that dress, and you’re out of my s “What do you mean there are no HD-TVs left? You advertised the paper.” Most of us are like that—and when we don’t get want, we make people around us miserable. It’s not somethin learn in school—it may be inborn. As I wrote the above quotations, I thought of a scene in the g store. A young mother was pushing her cart along and stopp the cereal. Her child—less than two years old—reached out f box. “Want! Want!” “No,” the mother said. “We have plenty at home.” She put a d box of cereal in the cart. “Want! Want!” the child said. Getting no response, she began and scream. To the mother’s credit, she did not give in but p the cart to another aisle and distracted her child. As I watched that behavior, I thought, That’s the way we all a of the time. We decide what we want, and when we don’t get we’re angry. “Jack and I were both up for the same promotion. I’ve been w company longer, and my sales figures are stronger,” Donna s deserved it, but he got the job.” “I had a grade of 98 going into my final essay test,” Angie said had made another 100, it would have given me a 4.0 average, would have become the top student in my graduating class. made only 83 on the test, and dropped down to fifth in my cl deserved a grade of 100, but my teacher doesn’t like me.” Let’s look at this problem more closely. The individuals menti above, who didn’t get what they wanted, made one common statement: “I deserved it, but I didn’t get it.” Too often, we Christians expect life to be perfect and for ever to go smoothly for us. We expect success, happiness, joy, pea everything else. When we’re thwarted, we pout or complain. Although God does want us to have a good life, there will be t when we must be patient and endure not getting our way. Th disappointments test our character and level of spiritual matu They actually show whether or not we truly are ready for pro Why do we think we should always be first while others have endure a lesser position? Why do we think we are entitled to perfect life? Perhaps sometimes we think more highly of ours than we ought to. A humble mind enables us to take a back s wait for God to move us to the front. God’s Word says that w inherit the promises through faith and patience. Believing Go good, but can we continue to believe God and trust Him whe don’t feel that life is fair? Satan plays with our minds. Most of the time, the evil one say negative things to us: “You don’t deserve it; you are worthless stupid.” Once in a while, however, he tries a different trick: H us how hard we work or how much we’re entitled to. If we lis believe, we may begin to feel cheated or believe that someon taken advantage of us. When we don’t get what we want, we fall apart, saying, “I des it!” We not only get angry with the boss, the teacher, or anyo but we sometimes get angry with God for not giving us what we deserved. The big mistake was to say we deserved it, because then self-creeps in when we don’t get what we want. We can take that attitude, or we can recognize that we have a choice. I can cho accept life the way it is and make the best out of it, or I can complain because it isn’t perfect. I think of the story of Jonah—not the whale story—but what happened afterward. He had announced that in forty days, G would destroy the city of Nineveh, but the people repented. B God listened to their cries, Jonah was angry. “Therefore now, I beseech You, take my life from me, for it is better for me to than to live” (Jonah 4:3). Sad, isn’t it? Jonah would rather have been right than to see 1 people saved. Our situations aren’t usually that dramatic, but many people would rather sit and feel sorry for themselves, li the whispers of Satan, and miss out with God than to simply God in every situation. The secret of the Christian life is that we commit ourselves fu God. If we surrender our wills to God, what happens doesn’t us angry. If God doesn’t give us what we want and ask for, ou is strong enough to say, “Not my will, but Yours.” God, help me. I often have strong desires, and when I don’t I want, I get upset. Forgive me. Remind me that Jesus didn’t die on the cross, but He lived in total submission to Your will. You, through Jesus Christ, to help me live in total submission content with what You give me. Amen.
Posted on: Wed, 13 Nov 2013 00:08:05 +0000
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