Don't give up on growth

I read this devotion from Rick Warren today and it was too good to keep to myself.

“Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.” (Romans 6:13 NLT)

Have you ever wondered why doesn’t God answer your prayers immediately? There are a couple of reasons.

The first reason is that he wants to know if you’re really serious. There’s a difference between a desire and a whim. When you have preschoolers you learn this. They ask, “Daddy, can I have this?” You answer, “No,” and they forget it. If they keep saying it over and over, it’s not a whim; it’s a desire.

God doesn’t answer whims. If you don’t care about praying about it more than once, it’s a whim. So God wants to see if you really mean business.

The second reason is that God is not a vending machine where you put in a prayer and the answer immediately pops out. God doesn’t serve you; you serve him.

If God answered every one of your prayers instantly, you would be the most self-centered person on the planet. Remember the movie “Bruce Almighty”? Jim Carrey’s character was given the ability to get anything he prayed for instantly. Whatever he asked for, he got it. He basically ruled the world! He also turned into a pretty terrible person.

You know the mess you’re in right now? You didn’t get into it instantly. You didn’t just make one bad choice; you made a lot of bad choices. So God has to peel the onion, one layer at a time.

If you’re serious about letting God change your life, you’ve got to hang on and not give up until God blesses you. Most people miss God’s best because they give up too soon. They give up in the struggle.

Don’t do it. Commit to God changing you — in his time. Don’t let go until he chooses to bless you.

Recovery is a process. Healing is a process. Growth is a process. It’s not a one-time event.

The Bible says in Romans 6:13, “Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God” (NLT).