Examine your need for God

 

"The unexamined life is not worth living." Socrates said that at his trial for heresy. He was on trial for encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time and think for themselves.

We have all had our reasons for delaying our coming to God. For the longest time I had no need for God. My life was going good. I had a good job, good relationships, and not too many worries. I did things my way, and for awhile that worked fine. And my life looked good in comparison with some. After all I liked to party a little but was no thief or murderer. I was a good person who sometimes got a little out of control. Based on my circle of friends I was actually “the good one” of the bunch. Then as life progressed and because of the path I chose, it began to fall apart. The pain of my life grew unbearable. I submitted to Christ as a last resort.

“The human spirit will not even begin to try to surrender self-will as long as all seems to be well with it. Now error and sin both have this property, that the deeper they are the less their victim suspects their existence; they are masked evil. Pain is unmasked, unmistakable evil; every man knows that something is wrong when he is being hurt.” 

― C.S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain

Through my conversion I began to finally be capable of self-examination. I was able to see in my life the things I can control and the things I could not. I had a deep empty hole to fill and God needed to fill it. I had to change my thinking about my place in my life and my posture towards God. I surrendered my life over to His care. Then things began to change for the better.  I will say, I took back control several times, only to end up in the same pits of crud I used to wallow in. My progress is slow but sure now, and by Grace given sobriety I hit less bumps in the road.

Lamentations 3:40
Let us search out and examine our ways, And turn back to the LORD;

Then things began to change for the better.

Not everyone needs to hit bottom or become addicted to find God. We all have that “God shaped hole” in each of us and it can be filled with anything we worship. It undermines God’s work in us and we stagnate spiritually.

2 Corinthians 13:5
Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified.

MANY REASONS TO DELAY

1.      I want to be more like Christ but I don’t want to change my behavior…and unless I do God won’t accept me.


Nehemiah 1:9  but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for My Name.
2.     
 I need to “clean up my life first” then I will start going to church, etc
.

Isaiah 40:29 He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.

3.     
 I am a good person. I don’t sin much. Besides, life is great.

Romans 3:23  for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

4.      God doesn’t have the patience to work with me.

2 Peter 3:9  "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is long- suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."

5. What’s the hurry anyway?  

Throughout the bible are examples of people who put off getting right with God, and they died in their sins because of it. In Noah's day, the people had a carefree attitude. They laughed when Noah warned them of God's coming wrath. They thought Noah was a fool to build the ark when there wasn't a cloud in the sky. But the Bible tells us "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (2 Corinthians 6:2b). You can't put it off because you don't know when Christ will return for you. Christ himself warned the people to be on the lookout for His return. Matthew 24:42-44 reads, Watch therefore; for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh."

I pray you examine your heart...I pray you find the Lord

Psalm 39: 12-13 Hear my prayer, Lord,
    listen to my cry for help;
    do not be deaf to my weeping.
I dwell with you as a foreigner,
    a stranger, as all my ancestors were.
¹³ Look away from me, that I may enjoy life again
    before I depart and am no more.”