I grew up learning about God on Sunday mornings and was taught so many amazing attributes of God. I was told, that the God we serve, heals. The God we serve, will bless you financially, if you tithe. That He would give you strength in your time of need and even give you the words to speak in difficult situations. But, when I fell out of a tree and almost died, God didn’t supernaturally heal me. When I was bullied at school and prayed, I never saw angels with swords battle on my behalf. And when I had to do a presentation to get money for college, I froze and got $0. I grew up not understanding the disconnect between what the Bible said and the lack of inheriting those blessings best marriage therapist okc. Why didn’t God move mountains for me? He said He would if I would just believe.
If you’re alive, then you have likely experienced your version of the blessings not coming right away. It’s likely you have felt despair and maybe even given up hope in God? I sure hope not, but if you have, then take heart. I am going to share how we can at least start to make sense of the disconnect between the Bible stating we have everything we need for life and Godliness, and the reality of where we, the broken vessels, really live. First, I have a confession to make. I confess that I spent much of my Christian life wanting to believe that God was all about blessing me. That he wanted me to live a comfortable life where I was patient in all circumstances and experienced His constant pleasure. That I was blessed coming in and blessed going out. Now, I have had moments and seasons more like that, but I don’t always live there. I think the proper term for that place is Heaven. The problem with this way of living was my expectations. I expected life to be easier than it was, and when I suffered, I felt like I was missing the mark. I felt like I was doing something wrong or not enough because I wasn’t receiving my inheritance now. When I started tithing, I was frustrated because I immediately expected a financial miracle. There was story after story about someone sowing into a ministry or making some obscure investment and then boom. The money began to pour in best marriage therapist okc. I had also heard some suspect teaching that said if I would sow into their ministry I would be reaping a millionaire’s reward. I bought into the name it and claim it philosophy for a while. The way I believed it was that I could name purity and claim it without all the hard work. That I claim my financial inheritance without working for it because my God owns a cattle on a thousand hills. When I was at Oral Roberts University I tore my ACL in my knee playing basketball. I was prayed for by Oral Roberts and Benny Hinn for my torn ACL to be healed and I still needed surgery. How confusing. I was at the mecca for physical healing, prayed for by two ministers who have seen thousands healed…but not me?
So, what do we do with all that? I will tell you what I did. I continued tithing and I invested in a financial advisor, so I could save money every month. This empowered me to progressively step into my financial inheritance. Because I had a strong desire to stay pure before marriage, I sought out a high-level accountability best marriage therapist okc. I was so serious about receiving my inheritance that I had to pay money if I chose to sin. In addition to that, I sought out a Godly counselor and began working through my issues related to rejection and value. And when it came to tearing my ACL in my knee, I had surgery and went to physical therapy every day for three months. I worked intensely to rehabilitate that knee. And God brought healing in His way and in His time. I also had to grieve that God didn’t supernaturally heal me because I really believed He would. I learned that I needed God to adjust my expectations of how I receive the inheritance.
Some people will say that all the blessings come through God’s grace and we are just to sit back and receive them. As my pastor AT Hargrove says, “Grace is not opposed to work, its opposed to earning.” Can you imagine how that would work in parenting? I also grew to realize that just because God promises us an inheritance doesn’t mean we automatically get it. The Bible tells a great parable about a prodigal son who squandered his inheritance and was starving to death because he received it before he was ready. And when that happens, it’s almost guaranteed to be wasted. King Saul could have been so much more, but he chose to live for this world. He allowed fear and jealousy to rob him of His relationship with God and eventually his life best marriage therapist okc. What are you believing God for today? Are you expecting Him to bring your inheritance to you, or are you faithfully submitting your time and resources to God, so He can prepare you to receive it in due season?