This is old & you've probably all seen it before, but ... well ... I just like it & it helps me focus sometimes. Maybe it's what somebody else needs to remember today. I asked God to take away my habit. God said, “No. It is not for me to take away, but for you to give it up.” I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. God said, “No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary.” I asked God to grant me patience. God said, “No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; it isn't granted, it is learned.” I asked God to give me happiness. God said, “No. I give you blessings; Happiness is up to you.” I asked God to spare me pain. God said, “No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to me.” I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, “No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful.” I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, “No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things.” I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He loves me. God said... “Ahhhh, finally you have the idea.”
Good post! And I am a firm believer that God helps those who helps themselves, but that does not mean you will be magically cured or your problems taken away but instead he will help you cope and get through it all.
But if I did that, it would cover me eyes ... ... A HAH! You just wanna see me fall down ... Chris, it's funny you said the "helps those who help themselves" thing because I struggled & struggled with that for so many years. "God helps those who help themselves" ... but the Bible says "Ask & it shall be given to you..." But I'm supposed to help myself ... but He'll help me if I ask ... but but but ??? (NOTE: Absolutely not attempting to debate the Bible or theology or anything like that here. ) "God helps those who help themselves" ain't in the Bible!!! I think somebody told me it was Ben Franklin who said it. Nice thought & advice, but really had me confused for a long time. Steven Curtis Chapman sings a song with a line that says "God helps those who cry for help". I like that notion a lot better. :-*
I apply that to football players I've seen getting a paralyzing injury or major reconstruction surgery that fight like crazy and rehab constantly, and then after a year or so they're either walking or getting around alot better than they were after the injury first occured. In their interviews they attribute "faith" and strong will as the reasons for them having success, and if they just sat there crying "whoa is me" then God would have not met them half way.
Yeah ... which brings to mind the joke about the guy stranded in the middle of the ocean, with the punchline (God) "I sent you a boat & a helicopter!" Remember that one?
Oh yeah, and I met alot of church goers like that back when I was going who would've drowned in that situation.
In the Qur'an it says: "God doesn't change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves." (13:11) Muslims also believe that God will help you if you just ask. But people don't usually ask unless they have "changed" the part of themselves that prevents them from depending on God or asking for help.
very interesting perspective karen, and similar to the way some mystics have described it the "God said no" passage is about the way this heathen commie pinko agnostic (and also a rabbi who wrote a book) see God as operating--seriously, my conception of God is that he doesn't give me the winning lottery ticket, but the notion that he exists might help me find the strength to endure the toil I have to because I don't have a winning lottery ticket and Jordan, I always appreciate your perspective and references to Islam--when I studied comparative religion, it was likely one of the ones I delved into the least--it is also the one about which there seem to be the greatest misconceptions and pard, that is certainly how many see it, particularly those who have struggled with the dual demons of addiction and excess
I can and have seen it in the very way that you are describing, but I am interpreting it more generally as God's role in human affairs; i.e., crappy things happen--expecting God to fix them (expecting him to be the grand enabler), doesn't work for me--praying for the winning lottery ticket or praying that my wife gets a job or that my hearing doesn't get worse are things I might do (if I were much of a "pray-er"), but I wouldn't expect God to say "yes". Instead, I would see his role as not the author and commander of every single event, but as a source of solace that there is something greater than the travails of everyday life...but then again, you are hearing this from the ultimate agnostic
i think god wants us to rely on him for peace and lean on him for help with our burdens. aren't we supposed to cast our burdens upon the lord? i think we have to be willing to face our trials and go through the valleys but it's god who is the source of my strength. there's no way i could have made it through some of the things i did without becoming hard, angry, and cynical if i hadn't just given it to jesus.
