Well, I’ve tried everything. I guess it might be time to try God and that faith stuff. I tried it once before and not much came of it. I even put a dollar in the plate and no voice from heaven thanked me. Maybe I’ll just try it again and see if two times is the charm. Who knows, that might be the way to get what I want. After all, I am enlightened and sensitive to spiritual things. 2 Tim. 3:7 Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.
There is a difference between tempting fate and believing by faith. To tempt fate or providence is not really reaching out to God. It is simply throwing a coin over your shoulder into a fountain, hoping for some conjured wish to come true. God is not some talisman you rub then repeat something you’re wishing for three times and voila – there it is.
Can God meet a person who is truly looking for Him through these worldly ways because of a lack of intimate knowledge? Sure He can, because God is so loving and will meet people where they are at when their hearts are sincere. However, God is looking for a personal relationship with His created beings and not just a Deity who is a dispenser of every type of whim and fancy.
Can someone’s young son or daughter walk up to someone else’s dad whom they have not known or met and say, “Hey, can you please give me a thousand dollars so I can buy a bicycle?” Sure, they could ask, but most likely there will not be the desired result because they do not know the person they are asking from and have no relationship with that person. Now God is much more sovereign than people are and answers prayers of every kind, but relationship through faith is what will grant you an everlasting blessing of life and fulfillment. Heb. 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Jesus said in effect, “If you know me you have met God the Father. John 14:7 If you know me, you will also know my Father. From now on you do know him and have seen him. We see it over and over again in the Gospels that anyone who had a true encounter with Jesus – no matter how bad their lives had been – would immediately want more of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene, of whom Jesus cast out seven devils, followed and worked with the disciples throughout Jesus’ ministry because of the dignity Jesus gave her through the love of God. The woman at the well who could not keep a relationship with any of the six men she had lived with could now permanently be in a loving relationship with God. When people met Jesus with their hearts – their hearts were changed.
The Apostle Paul, after years of walking and ministering the good news of Jesus Christ, found himself only wanting more of Jesus. Phil. 3:10a I want to know Christ and experience the mighty power that raised him from the dead. It is living by faith that a relationship with God is developed. Tempting fate is not conducive to a fulfilled life, but rather putting our faith in the one who gave His life for us is the way to a relationship with the only wise and loving heavenly Father.
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