Wednesday, December 7, 2011

Arguing with God

OK, I know that it is pointless to argue with God, but to deny my feelings (of which God is already keenly aware) is also equally pointless.  So, in an effort to state my case and talk things out I went head to head with God... kinda reminds me of Job, Abraham, or even David.  I guess I'm in good company.

Why do we argue with God?  Generally, I argue when I don't get my way.  Like a little child I pout, yell, and stick my tongue out to show that I'm not happy.  I do what I know is right, but my attitude stinks.  This doesn't please God at all.  To "obey" with the wrong motive is putrid to God and Revelations chapter 2 says that this half-hearted, lukewarm behavior makes Him sick.

But acting like everything is A-OK is just as bad.  He knows our hearts; so why can't we be honest with Him?  Why not approach the throne and in humility come clean.  That's what I mean when I say I have been "arguing with God".   For a while now, God has been prompting me to make some changes.  Now some changes are good, but they are not always comfortable.  Here lies the rub... God was asking me to leave the community He brought me to 4.5 yrs ago and I didn't want to go.  I have come to love this small rural town and the people with whom I have connected.  The congregation here is loving and caring and I cannot imagine finding folks that are more like family than friends.  And I could go on and on... my kids have more or less grown up here, they have grown in the Lord in ways that likely would not have occurred had we stayed in KC, and as I write I'm watching the snow fall upon the Bear's Paw mountains...   How about the ministries that are going on HERE!  Good News Club - 40+ kids that are hearing the Good News and that my family is deeply invested in; or the Adult Discipleship Classes - New believers that desire to know God in a deeper and personal way.  God, what about everything You have going on HERE!  Why do You want me to go?

But alas, He has called me away.  The "Why?" is not for me to know; at least not right now.  If He desires to reveal that to me, so be it; if not, so be it.  Regardless I have determined through this "argument" that I would rather be in God's will than in my own.