I
am always amazed by how many people I talk to in America who struggle
experiencing God’s reality. Many of them have a genuine hunger and desire for
more of God in their lives, and yet cannot seem to experience God. They are
faithful in church, reading the bible, and serving God but find no life in it
because there is an absence of experience. I too struggled with this for years,
and am convinced it is a common problem for Christians, especially those living
in the “Bible belt”. So what is the answer? I wish I knew for certain. While I
may not know the entire solution, God has recently been revealing to me some
insights that might shed some light on this issue.
Here is what I know: God is an “all-in” God. He doesn’t want part of your life, time, or money. He wants absolutely all of it, and promises that with a surrendered life comes an abundant life (John 10:10). I also know that as Americans, we live in a culture and society of highly developed unbelief. In fact, it is so highly developed that fear and doubt often masquerade as faith and wisdom. We can usually only see the true colors of our highly developed unbelief during hard times or times of crisis.
In Bob Sorge’s book, Secrets of the Secret Place, God began to speak to me about this very thing. Sorge writes, “Westerners have their own set of false gods- sources to which they turn for deliverance when in times of crisis or need”. He goes on to make a list of possible false gods or “plans B’s”, and if you’re anything like me, you might want to prepare yourself, it is pretty convicting. Here goes:
Rather than looking to God first, and trusting Him completely, we have a long list of back-up plans. For most, God is usually about Plan G. Is it possible that many Americans are not experiencing the reality of God’s healing, provision, and presence because they run to ten other things/people first? Many of these things we wouldn’t necessarily consider bad or wrong, yet, we often use them to meet a need that our Father wants to meet in a more complete way. It becomes abundantly clear, when one takes the Bible for what it says, that many of these are in direct contradiction to the life God has called us to. For example, Jesus said things like “Don’t store up treasure on Earth where moth and rust destroy”, “Don’t worry about tomorrow”, “Your Heavenly Father will provide for all of your needs” (paraphrase Matt. 5,6, & 7). We have been called to a radical life of faith and risk, knowing that God is good and abundantly capable of taking care of every one of our needs.
My intention with the post is not to point fingers, or condemn. Indeed, I too have a long way to go. But I am learning, and am even more convinced, that there is power in having no “plan B”. Something special happens when we put all of our proverbial eggs in God’s basket and trust that He will take care of us. For most of us, our minds are so consumed with the “what if’s?” that we never get to enjoy the life God intended for us. David said it best in Psalm 62:5:
Here is what I know: God is an “all-in” God. He doesn’t want part of your life, time, or money. He wants absolutely all of it, and promises that with a surrendered life comes an abundant life (John 10:10). I also know that as Americans, we live in a culture and society of highly developed unbelief. In fact, it is so highly developed that fear and doubt often masquerade as faith and wisdom. We can usually only see the true colors of our highly developed unbelief during hard times or times of crisis.
In Bob Sorge’s book, Secrets of the Secret Place, God began to speak to me about this very thing. Sorge writes, “Westerners have their own set of false gods- sources to which they turn for deliverance when in times of crisis or need”. He goes on to make a list of possible false gods or “plans B’s”, and if you’re anything like me, you might want to prepare yourself, it is pretty convicting. Here goes:
- Money
- Health insurance
- Medical treatment/prescriptions
- Social security
- Retirement plans and IRA’s
- Credit cards/consolidation loans
- Drugs/alcohol
- Pleasure/entertainment/recreation/sports
- Sex
- Friends (to deliver us from loneliness)
- Counselors
- Lawsuits
- Filing bankruptcy
(Sorge, Secrets of the Secret Place)
Rather than looking to God first, and trusting Him completely, we have a long list of back-up plans. For most, God is usually about Plan G. Is it possible that many Americans are not experiencing the reality of God’s healing, provision, and presence because they run to ten other things/people first? Many of these things we wouldn’t necessarily consider bad or wrong, yet, we often use them to meet a need that our Father wants to meet in a more complete way. It becomes abundantly clear, when one takes the Bible for what it says, that many of these are in direct contradiction to the life God has called us to. For example, Jesus said things like “Don’t store up treasure on Earth where moth and rust destroy”, “Don’t worry about tomorrow”, “Your Heavenly Father will provide for all of your needs” (paraphrase Matt. 5,6, & 7). We have been called to a radical life of faith and risk, knowing that God is good and abundantly capable of taking care of every one of our needs.
My intention with the post is not to point fingers, or condemn. Indeed, I too have a long way to go. But I am learning, and am even more convinced, that there is power in having no “plan B”. Something special happens when we put all of our proverbial eggs in God’s basket and trust that He will take care of us. For most of us, our minds are so consumed with the “what if’s?” that we never get to enjoy the life God intended for us. David said it best in Psalm 62:5:
“My
soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation”
(emphasis mine).
