Wishy Washy Ways (ATP) 

I was wondering, why do so many people only want to come to the Lord when things are good? Why not come to him all the time? We are thankful when blessings come our way but when trials come we seem to look the other way.

To put this plainly, the answer is, wait for it…..humans are spoiled. Should I just stop while I’m ahead? Sadly, humans have the tendency to complain and gripe and pout when they don’t get their way. We do this with other people and we do this with God. Proverbs 18:19 says, “A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city.” Offense is a fortified wall keeping the truth from getting in. That word offense is interesting. One of the meanings in the original language is, to break away from just authority, or to rebel or revolt. Imagine a child who disregards the directions of their parent or teacher and receives just consequence for it. What typically happens? That child gets mad at the authority who doled out the consequences, even though it was their own doing. Many of this can be summed up in something called immaturity. 

The Bible promises trial. Trial comes for humanity, not just for chirstians. In fact, just this week I could list too many tragic things that have happened to count, and those to people who aren’t serving the Lord. Christians often expect that because they accepted salvation now it’s not fair for life to be anything but cushy.  Did you accept Jesus and then expect that He owed you more than He already paid? When people turn from God when they don’t get their own way, we must ask whether or not they’ve ever really come to God in the first place. James 1:2 tells us to, “consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials.” This means 1. you WILL have trials, brethren, brothers and sisters, christians, and 2. you are commanded to consider it ALL JOY. Trials shouldn’t phase a Christian who trusts God. 

Many people, even christians, look at God as some sort of Santa Claus figure or genie in a bottle. The only time little kids even think about being naughty or nice is around christmas time, right around the time they begin to write their letters to Santa and their christmas wish lists. Oftentimes, people want something from God and that’s why they come to Him. They keep going to the genie and getting their wishes until the time when the genie doesn’t give them what they want or until they’ve gotten their fix. We’ve had many people come to us over the years for help and they were happy when it was easy to see the blessings of God but when the trials came even despite serving God, they figured they had a faulty genie and went after something else instead. If we are spiritually mature, we will make trials work for us, not against us. Keep reading in James 1:3, “knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.” Endurance could also be called constancy or stability. When we are tested, we have a chance to shine! It’s all up to us. James 1:4 goes on to say, “And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” LACKING NOTHING! People turn away before the end of the movie. They get bored in the middle somewhere and miss the victory at the end of the war or the greatest love story they could have ever known. 

So how do we counter this in our lives? We expect trial. We plan for it. We do our best to fortify our minds and hearts with the Word of God, before the trials ever come! 1 Peter 5:8, “Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour.” You must be sober minded and vigilant, keep on alert. 

Be Blessed,

Pastor Renée