1 Thessalonians 2:4 - Letting the Lord Decide

1 Thessalonians 2:4 "For we speak as messengers who have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Good News. Our purpose is to please God, not people. He is the one who examines the motives of our hearts." (NLT)

Too often when I look back at my life, I see those times when my impatience ruled me..........I just had to have this or that......right now............didn't want to wait. Invariably in those times when I got what I wanted when I wanted it, the luster wore off quite quickly...........or by getting what I wanted some unforeseen consequence of having it would pop up........something that I never anticipated.

I can look back now and see all the times I tried to engineer things in my life to fit my preconceptions. And in almost all the cases I can recall, my expectations were either met momentarily or not at all.

And the same thing goes for my walk with the Lord. When I was a young child, I used to pray fervently for the things *I* wanted and would get angry with the Lord when most of the time I didn't get what I asked for. For the few times that my prayers were answered in the way I intended.........I found out quickly that there were some unexpected consequences attached to what I asked for.

Looking back at it now, I can see clearly that the Lord was trying to get me to see that His way is the best way, but I was too consumed with myself to pay attention to Him.

So the scripture tonight really spoke to me about making sure I'm in a place where God is making the choices for me. I have a miserable track record when I make those decisions.

The scripture is very plain.........."Our purpose is to please God, not people.".............and that includes trying to please me. The Lord knows what's best for me so if I put Him in control of those decisions, I know the results will be what He wants........and in the long run that's all that matters to me.

I still have my times when the latest gizmo catches my eye, and I begin to want it..........but lately those times are getting far and few between. I still have those times when I want to rush in with *my* solution to a problem, but it isn't long before I back off and let the Lord handle it.

And He's given me a tremendous, unanticipated gift with all of this.........I now have a peace in my life that transcends anything I've ever had before............I feel Him close in everything I do............I seek Him out to question Him..........petition Him.....and thank Him for the time He spends with me. There is no greater gift to me than knowing He's near.

David sings to the Lord in Psalms 16:11....."You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever." (NLT) How right he is!

Love in Jesus,

Jim

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"But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired." (1 Corinthians 12:18 NASB)

"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE, Copyright 1960,1962,1963,1968,1971,1972,1973,1975,1977,1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission."

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This devotional was originally posted on CCI-Devo - Daily Group Devotionals on December 14, 2003 in post #429. It was written by Jim Ross, a former United Pentecostal Church member, who attends Christian Challenge International, the sponsor of the devotional group. The devotional is the copyright of Jim Ross and is reprinted on this site by permission.

Page added April 17, 2006

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