God's Wish List

Usually, at the beginning of the year or before our birthday, we draw up a wish list. This list could include things we want for ourselves or things we want to happen. The list may include an iPad2, a dream house, a trip to Batanes, putting up a restaurant, meeting a favorite celebrity, or maybe doing something crazy like bungee jumping. The more difficult it is to fulfill the list, the more intense we pray to God to make them come true. After all, with God nothing is impossible, right? If you want your wish list fulfilled, don't come to a fictional genie, but come to a real God who can make a nation in a day or who can make water come out of a rock in a desert. 

But do you know that God also has a wish list and only you can satisfy Him? A verse in the middle of the Bible says it this way, "How I wish my people would listen to Me; how I wish they would obey Me!"* Sure, God is delighted to hear our prayers but He will be pleased as well if He sees us seeking not only His blessings but seeking Him with all our hearts! This verse seems to tell me that God wants to be heard, that He wants to tell me things--maybe things like His good plans for me, His promises (that will not be broken), advice for a project I'm working on, and yes, I will not rule out even a  rebuke or a command. I suspect that most of the time we're scared to hear from God because we think of Him as a stern figure. But the truth is, God is a  loving Heavenly Father who wants the best for each one of us. He wants us to obey Him because what He's telling us to do is the best for us even when we think it's not. 

It's difficult to find time to read God's love letter--the Bible--or to be sensitive to an impression from Him. What's more difficult is to obey Him. But  I believe if we are at least willing, He will give us the grace to do so. 

Will you fulfill God's wish list? Will you do what you feel He wants you to do this year?

      

*Psalm 81:3 Good News Translation

Dealing with Delays

"It is important to grasp that when unfruitfulness, delays, and time are against you, you must keep doing the things God has already given you to do."

I felt a pinch in my heart when I read that line from Frank Damazio's book, Delays All Leaders Must Contend With. I was convicted. I have been impatient because of a recent delay in my life and I have been tempted to think negatively of others who are causing the delay. I felt neglected and unimportant. 

Haven't we all felt bypassed, ignored, neglected, abused, and as a result, unimportant and insignificant just because things are not happening to us the way we want them to happen? We waited, we stood firm,  we kept our part of the bargain, yet the other party didn't even move or give a hint, or send an apology. The greater danger is not in being annoyed with the other person and turning your back on the person or on the project, but take note, it is in getting angry with God. 

If we will be honest, we have been angry with God over something at least one time in our life, haven't we? We have been hurt by unanswered prayers and unmet expectations and naturally, we long for an explanation. Sometimes, the reply doesn't come too soon. Just like what happened to the couple Zacharias and Elizabeth who "were doing all the right things in the right way with a righteous motive" (p.132). They were both righteous before God yet God still hasn't heard their prayer for a child. Elizabeth was already too old to bear a child but instead of getting angry at God, both she and old Zacharias kept serving faithfully in the Lord's temple as priests. They kept  doing the routines while bearing the pain of being childless until one day, God sent an angel to proclaim the coming of a heavenly gift--the birth of their son John the Baptist. 

Delays are part of life. But they do serve a purpose. By the time I finished reading the chapter, my eyes were clouded with tears but my heart was cleansed by an understanding of God's purpose. My heart is ready again to trust God and His perfect timing. 

Delays All Leaders Must Contend With: Understanding God's Timing and Faithfulness  by Frank Damazio is published locally by Church Strengthening Ministry. 

God Calls, We Write

Speakers and Participants of Compassion International's Curriculum Writing Workshop
October 2-7, 2011

A week ago, I was at a curriculum writing workshop. I shared with the eager participants that writing is a calling--it is God who calls and we are the ones to write.

As in the case of others whom God calls to do great things, there are those who are not sure and even fearful. Who, me, a writer? Can I really write? Yes, God calls people who will write for Him and that person could be you reading this piece. He imparts to those He select an interest for words, a passion for paragraphs, a desire to create and communicate, a dream to be published, a longing to influence multitudes through the written word. Along with it, He gives abilities to choose words and craft them into stories, articles, or even lesson plans. 

God calls us not just to write, but to know Him, the Author of life Himself. As we write and enroll in His writing workshop, we discover a rich supply of His wisdom. He opens our eyes, gives us insight, and shows us how to write. It will not always be easy, and we would need to persevere. We must be willing to rewrite for writing is a process of writing and rewriting. We must battle with pride on one side, and insecurity on the other. But remember, God accompanies, enables, and gives victory to those He calls. We write a story, but in the background, God writes ours. 

Are you ready to write?