Own It

She was on the ecstatic end of overwhelm. After years of praying with expectant hope, she was seeing God’s answers.

Family? Blessed!
Career? Advancing!
Finances? Provided! And a surplus too!
Personal? Answered!!

With refreshed inner joy, it looked like she was gliding on air to an angelic tune in her mind. Things were finally good. Then she said:

“Wow God!! I almost want to tell God that’s enough. He’s done too much for me and I don’t need anymore.”

Wait – what?!

I wondered who planted a weed suggesting that God only offers a limited number of answers to our prayers. All that was unfolding was between her and God. Her faith needs to be rooted in God, not in the experiences of others.

It was okay to praise God with gratitude for this moment. It was okay for her to own it.

We often look for feedback from those we trust. We want to know how it was for them. If they’re satisfied with their decision. While this approach works well for products and services, it can be detrimental to our faith.

A faith-filled life can feel like an endless roller coaster ride at the world’s largest theme park. Situations sneak out of nowhere, like jarring twists and turns. Catastrophes and sudden losses send us plummeting at steep inclines. We have moments when we’re coasting or slowly climbing. As our faith builds, life feels fantabulous. And everything in between.

Depending on who you ask at any given time, God might be the bestest friend or His very existence and sovereignty is questioned. It’s easy to forget that God sets the standard that all others should follow. We should never compare God to each other.

This is one of many reasons why we need to know God for ourselves. He doesn’t only deal with us in group settings. He cares about each of us personally. As individuals. Regardless of our past experiences, regardless of how our parents, relatives, and authority figures may have modelled faith, it’s okay to know God for ourselves.

We get to choose what we believe. We must own it for ourselves.
______ 
You’re invited to “Own It” with Pastor Jean-Marcel Clouzet from April 26-29. He will present a series for youth and young adults. Everyone is welcome to attend in-person & online as we support our young people.
 
We cannot anchor our faith in the experiences that our parents and ancestors had. We want to take the limits off, unbox God and get to know Him personally.  
 
We hope to see you in person this week:
 
Wednesday, April 26    @ 7 pm
Thursday, April 27        @ 7 pm
Friday, April 28             @ 7 pm
Saturday, April 29     @ 9:45 am – Sabbath School
                                   @ 11 am – Message with Pr. Clouzet
                                   @ 12:30 pm – potluck lunch
                                   @ 7 pm – Message with Pr. Clouzet
                                    @ 8:30 pm – food & Jeopardy game night

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