Many people are creatures of habit, and while I may not fall into that category, I call myself a creature of convenience. I like things to be easy and accessible. I like to set up things while leaving options, just in case I change my mind, I don’t have to start over again. Bottom line for me, is am I happy and is everyone around me happy? To my natural self, this only seems wise or prudent.
This post comes from many years of God communicating through love and discipline one very important truth that has been hard, and continues to be hard, to conform my life and thinking around as it conflicts to my natural tendency. Here it is …
God primarily is not interested in, nor does He really care about, my happiness and my convenience.
That is hard to type and read because it makes God seem like such a kill-joy, and, you may ask, “that phrase sounds kind of harsh, do you have anything to back it up with?” Well, let me state it in the positive (or opposite), and then we can look at what scripture says.
God primarily is interested in conforming your character into His likeness … by any means possible.
Now, God has promised us peace (John 14:27 – Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.) and He has promised us joy (1 Peter 1:8b – you believe in him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy), but these are very different than happiness, which is never promised.
Happiness is most often dependent on our circumstances, whereas peace and joy can be present regardless of the circumstances of life. God’s promise to us is to make us like Him (Rom 8:29a – For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son) and for those that have placed their faith in Christ promises to work on us until we all see Jesus (Phil 1:6 – being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus).
I wish God could accomplish this goal of His (my sanctification) through pleasant and happy circumstances, but is has been my experience, and my observation of others, that He also chooses to use hard, unpleasant, embarrassing, painful, and discouraging circumstances to mold me into His likeness.
Now to the heart of this letter. If I want for me what God wants for me, then I will see every event, circumstance, and person that comes into my life as God providing these as a way to be more like Him. If I can have this approach and attitude most or all of the time, then I will see events, circumstances, and people as being happy or sad, but NOT good and bad, for they are all good if they further my conformity to Christ and they are bad if they pull me away from His fellowship.
My prayer for you is that you will have this view in life. I have struggled with it, and my walk with God has been hampered by my feeling sorry for myself when things are not easy or fun. See God in every circumstance. See events as ways to become more like Him. See people as opportunities to love both the love able and the hard to love. See God as a good God when he allows hard things in your life, because he wants them to produce Him in you.
Romans 5:3-5 – We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Letters from a Fathers Heart 