Thursday, January 22, 2009

Skewered Again

Wow, Beth Moore sure can inspire some good old-fashioned conviction. So this week it was "Do you believe, really deep down, that God is a giver or a taker?" OK, so we all know that the right answer is "Giver". But I know, for me, I really have a hard time believing that "deep down." Honestly, as we struggle and pray and seek to live every day more and more for Him and less for us, I often find myself holding back, afraid to take that next step, wondering what He's going to take next? How much is it going to hurt? In my head I know God is a giver - it's His very nature. So where does this come from? Miz Beth nails it again - Satan! What was the very first thing he used to cause Eve to stumble? Satan told her that God was holding out on her; that God didn't want her to have the best. And she bought it! And I'm still buying it! Dang! I just have to say, that sucks! Now, where do I go from here? So I recognize the problem, can I get over it? I sure hope so.

It's neat to see the Bible application, too, of course. What we're looking at is the story of Abraham (that's where all the inheritance talk starts in the scriptures) and we read about Isaac. God told Abraham to take his son, his only son, the one whom he loves, Isaac, up the mountain, and to sacrifice him to God. So Abraham does - except that God stops him right at the last minute and provides a ram for the sacrifice instead. But Abraham believed God when He told him that he would have many descendants through Isaac. So Abraham also believes that if God wants Isaac to be sacrificed, God must be planning to raise him from the dead. Now that's some faith! All of this is a foretelling of the Gospel, as well.

Anyway, even though we see God "take" sometimes (like with Job), God always gives back a thousandfold (like with Job). So yes, God gives and God takes away AND God gives back again. Nope - it's never boring.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Fantastic post! He owns it all - in the giving and the taking away, it's all Him, bringing us closer to what He wants us to be, you know? Isn't it awesome to have the privilege of walking in His will? And, no, it is never boring (as long as you keep your focus on the big picture)!

Anonymous said...

You're right - I just don't see how anyone could possibly try to justify those 2 opposing viewpoints, you know?

Ah, yes, I do blog a lot - okay, I'm downright addicted to blogging. We live in the middle-uh-nowhere, AZ (a teeny-tiny town north of Tucson), I homeschool three kids all day, and my hubs, when he isn't working, is in the garage playing with his toys. Sigh. Sadly, it's my main connection with the outside world...and people over the age of 14! :)