by symbiote
Many people who go to church don't understand how God works and what our place is in God's plan, me included.
It was a foreign concept to me that God was already doing stuff, and I just needed to ask him where I fit in. I suppose I knew God wasn't just sitting on his laurels, but I always thought everyone in God's will started their own thing, something new he told them to do. Not true. God is out there doing a lot in our world, but he wants us to join him, so that we can share in the redemption of his children. God doesn't NEED us to help, he can handle it, but he wants us to help because of what it will do to us and for us. Make us more like him.
If you've ever done the workbook with a small group or something called "Experiencing God" you know that these are the main points you learn:
- God is always at work around you.
- God pursues a continuing love relationship with you that is real and personal.
- God invites you to become involved with Him in His work.
- God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
- God's invitation for you to work with Him always leads you to a crisis of belief that requires faith and action.
- You must make major adjustments in your life to join God in what He is doing.
- You come to know God by experience as you obey Him and He accomplishes His work through you.
It is simple but not easy. Everyone I know struggles with #5. I hate having a crisis of belief and changing my ways. It is not fun, but the point is that fun doesn't matter as a primary goal in life. If we are adjusting our lives to God's way, and forever trying to be sure we are joining his work, then fun and satisfaction in life is a by-product of that willingness to put God at your paramount. If you haven't figured out where God wants you and you don't have the slightest clue, I suggest picking up the Experiencing God book, it is very helpful for helping you evaluate yourself and what God is doing in this world. At least for me, it involved God doing quite a bit of butt-kicking, which let's face it, in the end, is a good thing.
