Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Self-Centered & God-Centered


The sun was out again today! It sure did wonders for my attitude. I won't even go into it now, but yesterday was a crappy day. Start to almost finish, poo. I got mad at my "every day is a good day" friend and let him know about it. (Don't worry...I'm not still mad!) Whine whine whine whine. Basically, that's what I did all day. (I can't believe I still have friends!) Anyway, I got a swift kick in the pants at bible study last night. "May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart bless your name, bless your name, Jesus." That is the song we sang and let me tell you...that was NOT what was in my heart. So I sat and thought about my day and the words I knew I needed to say. I didn't completely understand everything until I hit my "Experiencing God" stuff this morning. I did work on the "wrong section," but it sure wasn't useless. I was looking at circumstances in the Bible where people were more self-centered than God-centered. When they were self-centered, things ended poorly for them. The people who were centered on God and his way knew enough to trust God's plan, even if they weren't 100% sure they believed it or understood it. What really got me though was what God said to the people he called. God was talking to Gideon, who was hiding from the Midianites. Gideon said, God if you are really with us, why is all this stuff happening? Where are the miracles, like the ones you did back in Egypt? "The LORD said to him, 'Go in this your strength...Have I not sent you? (Judges 6.14). Wow. Gideon knew the Lord's past, but was hesitant to trust His plan. God doesn't work on past or present, though. He doesn't talk about the great miracles He performed. No. He says, I sent you! This is what you are meant to do!
In the New Testament, people are still unsure of their call. In Acts 9, Saul/Paul is receiving his call on the road to Damascus. What I found most interesting in this passage is not the conversion, but the fact that God had a plan before Saul even planned his trip. The Lord is speaking to Ananias: Go, for he [Saul] is a chosen instrument of Mine. Chosen? He was just called! Yeah, but that means God had it in His plan always.
These people were experiencing their own self-centered moments. God came along and told them, Hey! This isn't about your safety or your plans, but about mine. To some, that is controlling and a loss of will. For me, I say Thank God! If my life is God-centered, that means I am not responsible for the events in my day, can't control them or change the outcome on my own. My day yesterday? In God's book, it went exactly the way it was meant to go. I didn't like it. So what? It isn't my job to control the day.
So I guess every day is still a good day. But you know, I've left out an important piece of the puzzle. Every day is a good day because God is in it, He has ordained it, I am alive to see it and to fulfill a purpose in it. Every day isn't a great day, but God is in every day and that is what makes them good.

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