Be Careful What You Ask For

Ask, Listen, then Act.

In the movie Evan Almighty, Morgan Freeman plays the character of God. In one scene, Freeman is having a conversation with Evan's wife, and he poses the same question in three different ways.

• IF you ask for patience, does God give you patience, or does He give you opportunities to be patient?
• IF you ask for courage, does God give you courage, or does He give you opportunities to be courageous?
• IF you ask for a close family, does God zap you with warm, fuzzy feelings, or does He give you opportunities to love each other?

These types of questions should be used when it comes to every area of our lives— our health, habits, actions, and character. However, we often want the answer to be easy, comfortable and safe. We want God to just give us what we ask for. This is the way we must sound to God:

• • Just change my circumstances.
  • Just fix my problems like anger, pride, anxiety, stress, and selfishness.
  • Just let me wake up in the morning and be different.
  • Just give me the solution, please.

Fortunately, that's not the way God works. He loves us too much to give us what we want when we want it. Instead of fixing our circumstances instantly, He often puts us on a journey to develop something in us and not just to fix something for us. God cares more about the fruit that is being produced in us and through us than providing a solution. There is more power in the process than the outcome; there is more learning in the journey than the destination.
 
Fruit grows over time. It's the result of a lot of nourishment and cultivation over time. We don't wake up one morning bearing fruit. We have to connect to the Source of Life in order to bear fruit.

“Like a tree planted beside streams of water that bears its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither." - Psalms 1:3

Ask for patience, and then get ready to face circumstances that will test your patience. Ask for courage, and then get ready to face circumstances beyond your capabilities that may bring fear, anxiety and worry. Ask for a loving family, and then get ready to be intentional about expressing love when given the opportunity. Ask for great health, and then get ready to face choices to eat foods that promote health or disease.
 
So be careful what you ask for. But still Ask. Stay connected to the Spirit and Listen for His voice. Then be ready to Actand make the right choice!
 
Ask, Listen, then Act!

Take Action:

1. Have you asked God for something like patience only to be confronted with a frustrating situation that tests your patience?
2. Why is connection with God so important for the way we respond in difficult situations?
3. What choices are you facing right now that may really be opportunities for God to change you?