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Daily Devotion - Episode 235 - When We Try to Help God and Get in the Way
Daily Devotion - When We Try to Help God and Get in the Way
"God loves you and people have a wonderful plan for your life!” This is what a good friend of mine would say when people made suggestions to the pastor or other people. It was a rephrasing of one of the Four Spiritual Laws by the late Bill Bright of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) and has a ring of truth to it.
My friend and I, along with countless other pastors, have heard well-intentioned suggestions from people in the church many, many times. It goes something like this, "Pastor, I think you should…” or “Pastor, the Lord told me to tell you…” You get the idea.
We all have thoughts about what others should or should not do, or how we might do something better or differently. Even if we don’t verbalize these thoughts out loud to others, we still have them. It's human nature to do this.
This is the byproduct of our self-centered nature. It’s our attempt at helping God or even acting like Him in other people’s lives. It’s something we inherited from our ancestors Adam and Eve after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17; 3:1-11).
Our plans or God’s way?
In chapter three of Ruth, the story takes an important turn. It zeroes in on one relationship within one day.
Although God has His plan and His way for bringing Boaz and Ruth together, Naomi sees the need to step in to help. She spots a way to secure a better future for herself and her daughter-in-law.
Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I try to look for a home that would be good for you?" (Ruth 3:1 GW).
Naomi sees an opportunity and sets her plan in motion. Naomi explains the timing of her plan and describes how Ruth should make herself available to Boaz. Naomi also instructs Ruth how to look and smell her best for the occasion. Naomi adds her final advice to let Boaz take the lead when the time comes.
This is manipulation, nothing less.
When we try to do similar things in the lives of others, we’re being manipulative. In a sense, we see ourselves—like Naomi—helping God in some way. But when we do such things, we interfere with God and His ways.
Some things to consider
Read the full devotion at https://devotableapp.com/daily-devotion-when-we-try-to-help-god-and-get-in-the-way/
"God loves you and people have a wonderful plan for your life!” This is what a good friend of mine would say when people made suggestions to the pastor or other people. It was a rephrasing of one of the Four Spiritual Laws by the late Bill Bright of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) and has a ring of truth to it.
My friend and I, along with countless other pastors, have heard well-intentioned suggestions from people in the church many, many times. It goes something like this, "Pastor, I think you should…” or “Pastor, the Lord told me to tell you…” You get the idea.
We all have thoughts about what others should or should not do, or how we might do something better or differently. Even if we don’t verbalize these thoughts out loud to others, we still have them. It's human nature to do this.
This is the byproduct of our self-centered nature. It’s our attempt at helping God or even acting like Him in other people’s lives. It’s something we inherited from our ancestors Adam and Eve after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17; 3:1-11).
Our plans or God’s way?
In chapter three of Ruth, the story takes an important turn. It zeroes in on one relationship within one day.
Although God has His plan and His way for bringing Boaz and Ruth together, Naomi sees the need to step in to help. She spots a way to secure a better future for herself and her daughter-in-law.
Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I try to look for a home that would be good for you?" (Ruth 3:1 GW).
Naomi sees an opportunity and sets her plan in motion. Naomi explains the timing of her plan and describes how Ruth should make herself available to Boaz. Naomi also instructs Ruth how to look and smell her best for the occasion. Naomi adds her final advice to let Boaz take the lead when the time comes.
This is manipulation, nothing less.
When we try to do similar things in the lives of others, we’re being manipulative. In a sense, we see ourselves—like Naomi—helping God in some way. But when we do such things, we interfere with God and His ways.
Some things to consider
Read the full devotion at https://devotableapp.com/daily-devotion-when-we-try-to-help-god-and-get-in-the-way/
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By DevotableDaily Devotion - When We Try to Help God and Get in the Way
"God loves you and people have a wonderful plan for your life!” This is what a good friend of mine would say when people made suggestions to the pastor or other people. It was a rephrasing of one of the Four Spiritual Laws by the late Bill Bright of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) and has a ring of truth to it.
My friend and I, along with countless other pastors, have heard well-intentioned suggestions from people in the church many, many times. It goes something like this, "Pastor, I think you should…” or “Pastor, the Lord told me to tell you…” You get the idea.
We all have thoughts about what others should or should not do, or how we might do something better or differently. Even if we don’t verbalize these thoughts out loud to others, we still have them. It's human nature to do this.
This is the byproduct of our self-centered nature. It’s our attempt at helping God or even acting like Him in other people’s lives. It’s something we inherited from our ancestors Adam and Eve after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17; 3:1-11).
Our plans or God’s way?
In chapter three of Ruth, the story takes an important turn. It zeroes in on one relationship within one day.
Although God has His plan and His way for bringing Boaz and Ruth together, Naomi sees the need to step in to help. She spots a way to secure a better future for herself and her daughter-in-law.
Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I try to look for a home that would be good for you?" (Ruth 3:1 GW).
Naomi sees an opportunity and sets her plan in motion. Naomi explains the timing of her plan and describes how Ruth should make herself available to Boaz. Naomi also instructs Ruth how to look and smell her best for the occasion. Naomi adds her final advice to let Boaz take the lead when the time comes.
This is manipulation, nothing less.
When we try to do similar things in the lives of others, we’re being manipulative. In a sense, we see ourselves—like Naomi—helping God in some way. But when we do such things, we interfere with God and His ways.
Some things to consider
Read the full devotion at https://devotableapp.com/daily-devotion-when-we-try-to-help-god-and-get-in-the-way/
"God loves you and people have a wonderful plan for your life!” This is what a good friend of mine would say when people made suggestions to the pastor or other people. It was a rephrasing of one of the Four Spiritual Laws by the late Bill Bright of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) and has a ring of truth to it.
My friend and I, along with countless other pastors, have heard well-intentioned suggestions from people in the church many, many times. It goes something like this, "Pastor, I think you should…” or “Pastor, the Lord told me to tell you…” You get the idea.
We all have thoughts about what others should or should not do, or how we might do something better or differently. Even if we don’t verbalize these thoughts out loud to others, we still have them. It's human nature to do this.
This is the byproduct of our self-centered nature. It’s our attempt at helping God or even acting like Him in other people’s lives. It’s something we inherited from our ancestors Adam and Eve after they ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 2:17; 3:1-11).
Our plans or God’s way?
In chapter three of Ruth, the story takes an important turn. It zeroes in on one relationship within one day.
Although God has His plan and His way for bringing Boaz and Ruth together, Naomi sees the need to step in to help. She spots a way to secure a better future for herself and her daughter-in-law.
Naomi, Ruth’s mother-in-law, said to her, “My daughter, shouldn’t I try to look for a home that would be good for you?" (Ruth 3:1 GW).
Naomi sees an opportunity and sets her plan in motion. Naomi explains the timing of her plan and describes how Ruth should make herself available to Boaz. Naomi also instructs Ruth how to look and smell her best for the occasion. Naomi adds her final advice to let Boaz take the lead when the time comes.
This is manipulation, nothing less.
When we try to do similar things in the lives of others, we’re being manipulative. In a sense, we see ourselves—like Naomi—helping God in some way. But when we do such things, we interfere with God and His ways.
Some things to consider
Read the full devotion at https://devotableapp.com/daily-devotion-when-we-try-to-help-god-and-get-in-the-way/