Getting Whay You Want

I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life. And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. (1 John 5:13-15 ESV).

It's so easy to become disappointed because we don't see life going the way we want it to and we do not see the big picture that God is working through everything to produce in us a character like Jesus Christ. We lose confidence in trusting God and begin to trust in ourselves and what we can accomplish. Pride and arrogance takes over quick and we find ourselves forgetting the goodness and grace of God. Then before we know it, something happens or goes wrong that we cannot control and we blame God. The truth is that nothing apart from God can save us or make us whole. Jesus is the answer and without Him at the center of our lives, we will continue to struggle with having confidence. God's Word is filled with promises of strength and courage if we place our confidence in Jesus Christ. As followers of Christ, there must be a distinctively different basis, direction, and source of our confidence. The Scripture speaks of confidence from a vertical perspective. It is not derived from the relative consistency of our experiences and the development of our gifts, talents, and abilities. It doesn’t come from the strength of our personalities or our track records of success. Likewise, it is not diminished or damaged by inconsistency, failure, suffering, dysfunction, or what so often appears to be the erratic, unpredictable nature of life. Our confidence is anchored in God. He never changes. He is never out of control. He is never taken by surprise. He never loses. Our circumstances don’t affect God; he affects our circumstances. God never missteps. He has no glitches. His ability to function is never overloaded. He never breaks down or crashes. He is our proactive, loving heavenly Father, who not only has a plan for our lives, but also has the resources to make happen everything he intends. Draw very near to Him today in your life. Rest in the knowledge that He only has good in store for you!