Made to Crave Week 4

From Triggers to Truth

Here's what I learned this week:

• we think that if we're happy with our outward appearance we'll be happy with other things
• I can't do anything wrong enough to lose God's love
• the more we understand about God, the easier it is to have faith and live according to His will
• always ask: how will I feel about this in the morning
• God is right there, I just need to turn to Him
• quit playing the victim
• I have zero self control when it comes to good tasting high calorie food
• I need to change the way I pray

Page 97 of the participant guide points out:

In the hectic chaos of a difficult day, it's easy to pray the kind of prayers that tell God all the ways He could miraculously intervene to change our circumstances: Dear God, please change these people, those things, and that whole situation. Amen. It's much harder to be still in God's presence, to listen to Him in silence and to pray, Dear God, please change me. Amen.

Isn't that so true?  How many times have I prayed, please, God, make it go away instead of what will You have me learn, or Your will be done, etc.  I just want to avoid all of the unpleasantness and always want the easy way out.  But we have many lessons to learn and rarely are they simple.  In chapter 12 we learn that we must remain in God's love so that we don't tie our happy to anything but God so that our joy will be complete.  But we need to be prepared to know that remaining in God's love isn't always easy and it isn't always comfortable.  It might mean we need to change us...the way we think or our self control...not beg for everyone and everything around us to change.  I know my self control really needs a workout to strengthen it, but to be perfectly honest I'm not looking forward to it.  But just like someone doesn't look forward to crunches, but appreciates the result, I will workout my self control with my eye on the prize.