How do you feel about God when things do not go your way? Do you get bitter? Do you blame God? Are you tempted to turn your back on God, walk away from your faith, and quit going to church? But that’s OK because you can watch online in isolation, right?
So many people want God to be like Amazon Prime. After looking at many options, they see something online they like and order it with one click. Very conveniently, the package is delivered right to their door within 48 hours. The package is then opened and it looks exactly like it looked online. They got what they wanted. Furthermore, it works perfectly and if not, you can return it and get an immediate replacement. Furthermore, it is charged to your credit card allowing you to enjoy it now and pay for it later.
Let’s be honest, most of the time God does not work like this. He is not our back-and-call God.
Many times we do not have multiple options available to us. Answers are hard to find. God is not one click away. It feels like our prayers can’t clear the ceiling. Things do not happen on your timetable. Life doesn’t turn out like we thought it would. And you know what, we can’t return it. The bill is due now.
What about pain, suffering, and disappointment? What about loneliness, loss, and heartbreak? Does God care about our situation? Has God forgotten us?
It is things pain, suffering, and disappointment that God uses to draw us to Him. It is the crucible of struggle which molds and shapes us into His image.
What drives us to our knees is what ultimately drives us to Him.
The greatest leaders in the world have calloused knees because they have spent so much time on them. The greatest leaders walk with a limp because they have been broken. The greatest leaders are humble and in awe of how God is now using them. Our fundamental need as leaders is more brokenness, not for God to act like Amazon Prime.
Read these quotes from the great theologian C.S. Lewis:
- “Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.”
- “Hardship often prepares an ordinary person for an extraordinary destiny.”
- “God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way.”
- “We were promised sufferings. They were part of the program. We were even told, ‘Blessed are they that mourn,’ and I accept it. I’ve got nothing that I hadn’t bargained for. Of course it is different when the thing happens to oneself, not to others, and in reality, not imagination.”
I also know many people who seemingly order something from Amazon Prime, if for no other reason, than anticipation. “Something’s coming!” It’s as if Amazon Prime is giving them something to live for, something to wake up for, something to look forward to. Their life is empty but something’s coming!
For the Christian leader, we know there is something to live for, something to wake up for. It is not a larger 401K. Nor is it increasing shareholder value or hitting this quarter’s numbers. It is not a bigger house, nicer car, the trophy wife, or getting our kids into a better school. It is certainly not something as simply as a package. There is something much, much better coming!
What is coming is Heaven. This world is not our home. Living for Jesus here and for all eternity in Heaven is what makes the hard times worth it. Jesus is what makes life worth living. Heaven is coming!!! And that is much better than anything Amazon Prime can provide.
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