It's all about you!

My kids have been told over and over (and over and over and over) again that if they need to talk to me, they need to get up and come into the room I'm in. However, over and over (and over and over and over) again they just yell at me from across the house. Almost always they are yelling, "Mom, I need help!" Since they have been reminded over and over (and over and over and over) again not to do so, I simply ignore them until they finally come to me to seek help.

Well, today it happened yet again. As I waited for Jaedon to realize that I wasn't answering or coming to him I felt the realization wash over me that God is just as irritated by this as me. I don't mean that He's irritated with Jaedon yelling across the house for help. No, He is irritated by me knowing what I should do yet I go the opposite way. I get myself into trouble and can't get myself out. So what do I do? I yell, "Dad, help me!" but I don't actually go to Him for help. Does that make sense? It does in my brain, but let me see if I can explain it further.

I ask God to fix the problem. I ask God to change the person involved in the problem. I ask God to make things better. But I don't get down on my knees and go to God in prayer and apologize to Him for not listening to Him in the first place. I don't ask God to fix ME, to change ME, to make ME better. That is, not until I realize that He's not going to help me where I'm at and that I need to come back to Him. Only then do I feel Him give me the help to come back.

Faith is all about you. It's about you realizing you need Him. It's about you asking for help. It's about you wanting to change. It's about you turning your back on your past life and turning toward the one God has laid out for you. It is all about you. God will not make you change. You have to take the active steps to find God. You can't just sit there and wait for God to drop truth in your lap.

"You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart." Jeremiah 29:13.

You can't halfheartedly look for God. He knows if you're giving him lip service or if you are truly trying to discover him. Think about it from your own viewpoint. If someone wanted to be your friend just for what you could give them, would you be friends with them? Of course not. But if someone wanted to be your friend because they thought you were a cool person, someone they would want to hang out with just because - you'd let them in. Why should we expect God to be any different?

Have you tried the whole "God thing" and found it lacking? Maybe it was because you were looking at it through the eyes of someone who just wanted the good stuff out of it - not as someone who wanted a relationship with the Creator of the world. I'll say this as clearly as I can. Stop it! God is no fool. You are never going to feel his presence if you are trying to get close to him just for what He can do for you. But if you seek Him with your whole heart - if you want to get to know Him, not just know about Him, but know Him personally - you will start to feel his presence in your life. But you - not your parents, friends, pastor - have to seek him. You. It's all about YOU!