Recently I was talking with some friends and we were discussing remedies to go to sleep. We were talking about Green Tea and warm milk, and how they relax people and make them sleep better. At the end of the short conversation I said - "Well I have no idea about that because I don't drink tea and to me milk is meant to be cold. If I need to sleep I just take a Tylenol PM and I am out for a good eight hours."
Understand that I am not saying that tea or warm milk are bad, but to me they do not really solve the problem. They really just cover it because they do not cause the person to actually sleep, just relax a bit where sleep comes easier. Basically it is the difference in a drug that says - "It is recommended that you not drive while on this drug" and " DO NOT OPERATE ANY MACHINERY WHILE ON THIS DRUG." They both may get some results, but one is extremely serious about it and guarantees that there will be some impact.
Now I know you wondering how that relates to God and such, well follow me here. Some people see a spiritual, emotional, social or sin problem and they say - "Well if I change a bit and do this or that I can solve it myself" or "With the help of my families and friends I can get through this." This is not a real solution generally. Usually this is a patch, and typically a temporary one at that. Sure at times that patch may lead them to where they actually go to God and get the problem solved, but they had to build up to that point. That means they had a time where they were not pursuing a real solution and that means additional personal suffering, which is something that most of us avoid if possible. In the end, many times people take steps to solve their problems that may or may not get results and that to me is a mistake and that mistake is my point in this note.
Consider instead if the person takes their sin, emotional, social or spiritual problem seriously and immediately goes to God and seeks His plan for their solution. That is a statement of their understanding of 1) the importance and power of going to God for a real solution instead of man for a temporary solution that may or may not eventually lead them to seek God and 2) the acknowledgment that they need God to help solve their problems as they can not handle them without Him. Wisdom and knowledge begin with the fear of the Lord and He should not be our last option when a wise solution is called for.
Yet many times He is that - our last option, not our first. What does that say to the world, our family, our friends, and those that look to us for leadership. It says - HYPOCRITE!!! That is a tough word, but it is a truthful one. Our actions tell the world what we really believe, and if we run to the world, and it’s solutions, when the rough times come it shows that our true heart is not with God. The world is watching and you are making a impression everyday with your life weather you like it or not and whether you want to or not.
I know this post has not been the smoothest comparison ever made, but at the root what I am saying is when we are suffering, be it due to sin or situation or oppression, we need to go to God first and get a real solution, not mess around with silly or worldly answers that may or may not, but usually does not, lead us to God. God wants to and loves to hear from us. He longs to be the lover of our soul and He yearns for a better relationship with us. He wants to be involved in all portions of our life, not just ones that we want to give to Him.
Simply, I am encouraging you to never forget to take it all to God first, and then follow through with the solution that He gives you. I am not saying that you do not do that now, as I am not in your prayer closet and I do not know. I do know that I do not always run first to God and I assume that you are like me in that respect at times. Truthfully, we all, especially the males of the species, want to control our own lives and provide our own solutions. However God bought us with a price, considering myself many would say that the price God paid was too much for what He got - but that is another point entirely, and we are now His and He loves all of us and every part of us. The truth is God knows me better then I know myself, so He already knows about what is on my mind, He already knows about what I am facing, and He is ready and able to support me through the problem/s. Know every OCCURS to God, nothing SURPRISES Him, nothing is NEW, He has it all under control and He has a plan for you to live a FULL life. Today simply take it all to God and trust His solution, instead of trying to cover it up and avoid it with worldly and faulty solutions.
