Far warning, this is not a warm and fuzzy post. It might hit close to home and you might even be offended. What I'm writing about hits home for me. I spend way too much time thinking about the "me parts"and not enough on the "God parts". This is written not as a "Christians are bad" post, but hopefully as an eye opener and direction changer.
I have a problem with how me and many Christians read verses in the Bible. We grab onto the "me part" and tend to ignore the "God part". What do I mean by that? Well, here's some popular examples.
Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not evil, to give you a future and a hope." I admit this is one of my favorite verses, who wouldn't love it! But read the verse before it: "For thus says the Lord: When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will visit you, and I will fulfill to you my promise and bring you back to this place." Um, seventy years later and then the promise! Yikes, that part isn't on any of the pictures of this verse. But wait there's more.
There's the two verses afterward: "Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will hear you. You will seek Me and find Me, when you seek Me with all your heart." So, wait I have to seek after God with my whole heart to get the promise? What? I have to call on, pray to, and seek after God in order to get what I want? Yes! Yes, I do. And it isn't even about me getting what I want. The Israelites were bad, very bad. God allowed them to be taken into captivity by Babylon. Then He promises them that after they have suffered for 70 years, they will finally start to seek Him! That's when He will fulfill the promise of Jeremiah 29:11. See, they weren't getting ahead, getting something brand new. They were getting to go back home, to Israel. They weren't getting more than the Promised Land; they were getting to go back to the Promised Land.
Here's another one.
Romans 8:28 "And we know that those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." I have literally heard Christians walking around and claiming that all things work together for their good. Do you notice the one little change they make to the verse. God didn't promise that we would have good for ourselves, He promised that everything, even the yucky things of life, will work together for good, not necessarily our "give me what I want" good, but maybe more like that "suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope" kind of good. I have been dumbfounded when I hear people declare that they are going to get what they want because they claim God promised it in this verse.
But that's the "look at me" part, not the "God part". The verses before are about how we don't even know what to pray for, so the Holy Spirit intercedes for us. About how He intercedes according to the will of whom? Nope, not my will or your will, but God's will. The Holy Spirit doesn't pray that we get all the good that we want. He prays that we get all the good that God wills us to have, the good that comes for suffering and being able to endure, grow character, and end up with hope.
The list of verses could go on and on, but let's look at just one more.
Philippians 4:13 "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Let's be totally honest, most of us just focus on the first five words, "I can do all things". There are bracelets, posters, cute photos online that declare that we can do all things. Too many times, they don't even mention how it is possible that we can do all things. We can do all things "through Him who strengthens me" and the Him, there is God, of course.
Christians want to start a new business. I can do all things! Christians want to win in a sporting competition. I can do all things! Christians want to get a new car. I can do all things! I want what I want. I can do all things!
Once again look at the verses around verse 13. Paul is telling them that he has learned that in tough situations, and he had his share of them, he can be content. He has also learned how to face having plenty and having need. How, you might ask. He states "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." He's telling them, and us, that he has learned to live with a lot and with a little because God is the one who gives him what he needs. His doesn't focus on "I can do it" but on "God can do it".
Once again, this is as much about me as it is about anyone else. I love Jeremiah 29:11 for the promise as much as anyone does. But I have learned, well still learning, to read the promise verses in context. I need to be open to hearing how God wants me to endure through trials and how He wants me to seek after Him with my whole heart. I need to remember that I need to humble myself, delight in the Lord, and take the focus off of me. I need to remember that He fights my real enemies, satan and his demons, and not the people who I see as being in my way or annoying to me. I need to focus more on seeking after God and less on what He promised.
In terms of a fairy tale, I need to be the Cinderella who wants to be with the prince, to marry him, rather than the step-sisters who wanted to have all the good that goes along with being married to the prince. I need to seek to know Him and not seek to get from Him.
I know that I need to be reminded to read the promise verses in context and look for God in them, and I figured I'm not the only one.
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