Reason #964
I have always found it peculiar that when women are asked to list things they are looking for in a mate, they always say they want someone who can make them laugh. Of all the things to choose from, I never really understood why this one made it so high up on the list. For one thing, the world is full of funny people, and unless you're just really cold hearted, it's not that difficult to find humor in situations. But it is as if that one trait is really unique and their significant other is the only person who can successfully make them laugh. If you were to ask me for a list off things I wanted in a mate, having someone who could make me laugh wouldn't be anywhere near the top of my list. In fact, it probably wouldn't even make the cut.
I remember making out my list of traits that I wanted in a husband. I tried to be realistic, and I left out the physical stuff. I knew there was no point in picking out hair color, eye color, and height. I wish I still had that list. I threw it away a few years ago, so I don't remember every single thing I had written down. But I remember that I really thought through it. I tried to think of things I would want in the long run. I tried to come up with traits that really mattered. I focused more on character than anything, and I felt like I came up with a really solid list. I threw a selfish thing or two in there, but I kept it reasonable by my standards. I figured if these things lined up with God's word and I made sure to stick to the list, I'd find success.
But the problem with life is that it doesn't really care about what you want. Sure, it'll tempt you to chase after the things you want, but overall, life doesn't really care about you. It could care the less about how your future turns out, and most of the time it's trying to mislead you so that you'll end up walking down one broken path after another. Yet we take the things we want, the things we know are good and right, and we try to conform them to fit the things of this world rather than using them as the standard for the things of this world. We begin to bend and contort them so that they'll fit in ways they weren't intended. We take God's word and we begin to search for loop holes. We try to find exceptions and then, just to cover our bases, we ask the Lord to bless our choices even if they aren't totally in line with His will. We figure it's "close enough" and so it will work. Plus, if we ask for His blessing, nothing will go wrong.
But God doesn't ask us to get "close enough" to doing His will. He asks us to do His will. He doesn't ask us to try and stay close to the path, He asks us to stay on the path. He doesn't say, "It's okay to occasionally wander off in your own direction." He warns us to follow close after Him so that we don't get lost. Because there is a significant difference between "good" and "good enough," and God never desired for us to live a life that is "good enough," yet we seem to be fine with settling for that.
God's good is better than our good enough. In fact, His good is exactly what we need. But maybe we don't really know what we need. Maybe we really just know what we want. Or, maybe we do know what we need but we aren't certain that it actually exists. Well, I'm here to tell you that it does. I know people say things like, "He has all the traits I needed and never even knew I wanted," but I am the complete opposite. God blessed me with a husband who has all the traits I wanted because I knew I needed them. When I prayed about it as a teenager, I knew I needed that kind of husband. After all, God was laying those things on my heart so that I could pray for Aaron before I ever knew him. And when I realized that I had fallen guilty of bending those desires into shapes they weren't intended to be, I began praying for them again. I began asking that God would really help me to understand what to look for and to notice it when it truly existed. Not to make exceptions or excuses or to get close enough. To be honest with myself and to really trust the Lord. After all, no one cares more about us than He does.
God cares about your future. He cares about how it is going to turn out. He knows what you need, and He knows what you want. It's okay to want. It's okay to have desires. But don't trade in God's good for something that is simply good enough. Wait it out if that's the case. It will come. And, if you're not certain what it is you need, ask Him. Every good and perfect gift is from our God, so open your arms, let go of your expectations, and receive good things from a God who is more than enough.
#964 - Because God's good is always better than our good enough.
"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love." - 1 John 4:16
I remember making out my list of traits that I wanted in a husband. I tried to be realistic, and I left out the physical stuff. I knew there was no point in picking out hair color, eye color, and height. I wish I still had that list. I threw it away a few years ago, so I don't remember every single thing I had written down. But I remember that I really thought through it. I tried to think of things I would want in the long run. I tried to come up with traits that really mattered. I focused more on character than anything, and I felt like I came up with a really solid list. I threw a selfish thing or two in there, but I kept it reasonable by my standards. I figured if these things lined up with God's word and I made sure to stick to the list, I'd find success.
But the problem with life is that it doesn't really care about what you want. Sure, it'll tempt you to chase after the things you want, but overall, life doesn't really care about you. It could care the less about how your future turns out, and most of the time it's trying to mislead you so that you'll end up walking down one broken path after another. Yet we take the things we want, the things we know are good and right, and we try to conform them to fit the things of this world rather than using them as the standard for the things of this world. We begin to bend and contort them so that they'll fit in ways they weren't intended. We take God's word and we begin to search for loop holes. We try to find exceptions and then, just to cover our bases, we ask the Lord to bless our choices even if they aren't totally in line with His will. We figure it's "close enough" and so it will work. Plus, if we ask for His blessing, nothing will go wrong.
But God doesn't ask us to get "close enough" to doing His will. He asks us to do His will. He doesn't ask us to try and stay close to the path, He asks us to stay on the path. He doesn't say, "It's okay to occasionally wander off in your own direction." He warns us to follow close after Him so that we don't get lost. Because there is a significant difference between "good" and "good enough," and God never desired for us to live a life that is "good enough," yet we seem to be fine with settling for that.
God's good is better than our good enough. In fact, His good is exactly what we need. But maybe we don't really know what we need. Maybe we really just know what we want. Or, maybe we do know what we need but we aren't certain that it actually exists. Well, I'm here to tell you that it does. I know people say things like, "He has all the traits I needed and never even knew I wanted," but I am the complete opposite. God blessed me with a husband who has all the traits I wanted because I knew I needed them. When I prayed about it as a teenager, I knew I needed that kind of husband. After all, God was laying those things on my heart so that I could pray for Aaron before I ever knew him. And when I realized that I had fallen guilty of bending those desires into shapes they weren't intended to be, I began praying for them again. I began asking that God would really help me to understand what to look for and to notice it when it truly existed. Not to make exceptions or excuses or to get close enough. To be honest with myself and to really trust the Lord. After all, no one cares more about us than He does.
God cares about your future. He cares about how it is going to turn out. He knows what you need, and He knows what you want. It's okay to want. It's okay to have desires. But don't trade in God's good for something that is simply good enough. Wait it out if that's the case. It will come. And, if you're not certain what it is you need, ask Him. Every good and perfect gift is from our God, so open your arms, let go of your expectations, and receive good things from a God who is more than enough.
#964 - Because God's good is always better than our good enough.
"We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love." - 1 John 4:16
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