BY STEVE DUNN
Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for ... These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. - Hebrews 11.1-2, 39-40
A lot of us live by wishful thinking. We say and do things that reflect a basic denial of reality. I cannot tell you how many times as a pastor I heard someone say,"I know what you're saying, but my experience is different. I am an exception to that rule." Usually what they were saying was, "I want to do what I want to do, but don't want to be held accountable for my choices.
Before someone accuses me of being a hypocrite or Pharisee,I need to confess something. Diabetes runs in my family. Almost 20 years ago my doctors dropped the adjective "borderline" from their diagnosis. They told me how to combat it, particularly the importance of diet.
I really didn't make that many changes, except to slow down on regular soft-drinks. I would eat carefully for a few days and then in times of boredom or at buffets, I would abandon all boundaries. Now hundreds of milk shakes later, I find myself taking drastic measures to get that diabetes under control.
Wishful thinking can be very dangerous, especially when God has made it clear that only His way works. There are no exceptions to his rules.
But one of his rules is "with man it is impossible, but with God all things are possible." In our faith life some of us are so grounded in being practical or realistic that we think that only the things man controls are to be pursued. Comfort zones are where we choose to live. Walking on water is for Jesus and foolish humans. After all, look what happened to Peter.
The problem with that is that God Who always keeps His promises feels no need to provide instant gratification and whose rewards which are eternal start closer to eternity than the present moment.
Be careful of wishful thinking. If it is contrary to God's word or way of acting - it is foolishness, often tragically so.
But when God says let go, look beyond, follow me - the foolishness is in our comfort-zone, control-obsessed response.
© 2016 by Stephen L. Dunn. You have permission to reprint this provided
it is unchanged, proper authorship is cited, it is in a publication not for
sale, and a link is provided to this site or to www.drstevedunn.com. For all other uses, contact Steve at sdunnpastor@gmail.com
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