MY GOD IS NOT A GENIE

My God is not a genie. He has a will. He has a plan. He has all-power. He has all the resources. However, my God is a gentleman. With a little influence from Him, He allows us to make the decision to follow Him in the first place. All the remaining decisions made in our journey of faith should and need to be consulted with God with self put on the shelf.

There were many times in Scripture, especially when Christ was here, that His immediate answer to a situation was given. That instant-answer has detonated as an immediate response society today. I have found myself coming very close to treating my God as a genie - where I call on Him, make my wishes and put Him back in my pocket for the next challenging day.

I keep learning that everything is a process, especially in faith and relationships. The acquisition of a goal or answer to a question is a process, at times the process is extremely short in length - almost immediate. Other times the process could be what seems eternity in fruition. However, God said He would work with us, beside us, inside us and on us. Our part in the this faith journey is two part - (1) trust God has a plan for our lives and (2) walk out His precepts while figuring that plan out.

Salvation is a process. Those who call themselves Christians were "wooed" or courted by God at one point when they were unbelievers. There were people and things God placed in their lives to give them the opportunity for a relationship with Jesus. Christ's own life on earth was a process of fulfilling prophecy, teaching, healing, not dying before the appointed time and setting up the next stage of His Presence on earth - the church age.

There are many other processes that Christians have to walk through in understanding God, understanding ourselves and in understanding God's plan for us. Some of these processes are God's healing, family dynamics within the church and our placement in the kingdom in regard to our calling. While I am sure of God's ability to immediately resolve all development, I must trust in His Will, in His Plan, in His Process because My God Is Not A Genie.