More on First and Second Things

Last Thursday, I wrote about first and second things. Before going to sleep that night, what should I read but Living the Life God has Planned by Bill Thrasher. The similarities are uncanny...

God is Good

The basic strategy of Satan is to distort our understanding of God. He seeks to attack God's goodness in order to make a person feel that obeying God will shortchange his or her life.

God is good and His ways are always good. He says that if we seek the primary thing we will get the secondary things. Look at these verses that amplify this message.

"But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." - Matthew 6:33 (NIV)

Our responsibility is to seek His rule, and His responsibility is to provide for our needs.

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favour and honour; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." - Psalm 84:11 (NIV)

Our responsibility is to walk uprightly, and His responsibility is to give us the good things.

"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart." - Psalm 37:4 (NIV)

Our responsibility is to delight in God, and His responsibility is to give us the desires of our hearts.

John Wesley is often quoted with the words, "Don't seek for a ministry, but anticipate the fruit of a disciplined life." As we respond to the character of God, the experience of God's will is the overflow of this relationship. Knowing God's will is a result of knowing God.

- Bill Thrasher, Living the Life God has Planned

Knowing God's Will vs Knowing God

At the same time, it is important to bear in mind that while we cannot know God without knowing God's will, we can know God's will without knowing God.

"You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that - and shudder." - James 2:19 (NIV)

The Acid Test

In our pursuit of God's will we must also be alert to what we are really pursuing. God has put certain thirsts in our hearts that are a part of our very being. The thirst to feel significant, to have meaning and purpose, and to experience contentment and security are part of all of us. It is very human to attempt to find these needs met in another person, position, or possession. In other words, our pursuit of God's will is always vulnerable to pursuing an idol...

As you continue to consider the decisions of your life, use them as an opportunity to get to know God...

God is a loving God who delights in working on the matters of our life that concern us (Psalm 138:8). I recall a time a friend told me about taking a homeless man to get a meal. He graciously bought him a nice meal and wanted to talk to him and get to know him. However, after the man ate the meal, he immediately got up and left the restaurant.

As my friend reflected on the occasion, he communicated sadly how this reminded him of his own relationship with God. We all too often come to God for our immediate needs, but after they are met, we pursue our independent lives and fail to receive the greater treasure - intimacy with God Himself.

The great church leader A. B. Simpson stated his own experience with these words: "Once His gifts I wanted, now the Giver own; Once I sought for blessing, now Himself alone!"

- Bill Thrasher, Living the Life God has Planned

Links: First and Second Things (10 Dec 09), Even More on First and Second Things (31 Dec 09)