God’s not a Cosmic Vending Machine in the Sky

Do you want to just have access to His gifts more than you want to be in His presence?

 

The enemy would love for you to believe that if you received every spiritual gift out there, you would be more valuable to God and more influential than others. The enemy aims to distance you from God in whatever way he can. If that means dangling the carrot of fame and recognition in front of your face, then he’ll do so. Our enemy will do everything in his power to place anything in our path that would draw our attention away from God’s heart.

If you seek God’s power to be known amongst your friends and church as a prophetic maestro or the guy who can lead ANYONE to the Lord, you are headed toward deception.

If you aim to gain entrance to the cool kid’s club in your church community by bragging about your spiritual giftings, you are disappointing God and setting yourself up for a dramatic fall.

You miss the boat if you are more interested in feeling God’s power than abiding in His presence. Jesus didn’t die for us so we can play with His gifts. He’s all about relationship.

Think of it this way. Imagine you invited someone you’ve known for years over to your house on several occasions so you could hang out with them and deepen your friendship. However, it’s been an ongoing pattern that your friend heads straight to your game room upon arriving at your door. Your friend takes selfies of themself with their favourite toys in hand. They post on Instagram and Facebook, bragging about their friendship with you, but they rarely say anything to you beyond a quick hello and thank you. By all appearances, that friend of yours doesn’t show much interest in being your friend.

They raid your fridge but rebuff every attempt on your part to deepen your relationship. They walk right past the table you set for them and grab a snack before heading back to the games room. At the end of the day, they give you an enthusiastic word of thanks for a great visit and then head out the door.  Would you feel exploited? Would you feel disappointed?

God isn’t an emotionless vending machine in the sky. He wants our attention and our affection. And above all else, He wants to make His heart known to us. Don’t be afraid to draw near to God.

Ephesians 1:3-8 (MSG) – “How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind and had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long ago, he adopted us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.”

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Personal Application

James 4:8 – “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.”

If you’ve been guilty of any of the behaviour above, don’t be afraid to approach God in repentance, He’s eagerly awaiting you with no condemnation! He’s head over heels in love with you!

A great way to bond with someone is to work alongside them. This week, begin each day by inviting the Lord to interrupt your routine. Ask Him for divine assignments that require you to lean more on Him than your natural talents or spiritual gifts.

Invite God to interact with you throughout your day. Then ask Holy Spirit to increase your capacity to feel His presence.

Cultivate a hunger for intimacy with God! Do so by inviting Him to show you His heart and stay determined not to move from that place of hunger!

Until Next Week

©2023 Katherine Walden

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