Really, Is It Good?

So I've been thinking about us humans and our desires verses God's will quite a bit this past week. I hear the prosperity gospel preached everywhere and I see so many people, even secular artists, thanking God for how far they have come in their careers; calling themselves blessed. I believe that it is true, that every good thing comes from above. That we can have favor and prosperity in everything we do. But, have we ever questioned if the "good thing" is actually good? Because "good things" can come from below. Good things can be distractions. Good things can come at at the wrong time for the wrong reasons, to keep us from truly walking in our callings.

I think that a lot of times, when we see something shiny we want to grab onto it. Especially, in this cold, dark, world, everyone is trying to find happiness, completely overlooking Jesus. We don't realize that the shiny bright thing in the natural might just be a knife, reflecting hell's fire, heading straight for your soul. We're blinded by the need to find happiness, whether it be through people, materialism/money, or even just popularity and respect. We crave the things that make us look good and feel good in the natural world and are a lot of times willing to do anything for it. Some people are willing to go as far as "selling their soul to the devil." (That's a whole other topic)

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When I hear people in very worldly industries say, I'd like to thank God," I'm baffled because I see that everything they represent is darkness but they are blind. To them, any good is God sent. One thing that this generation, every generation, needs to do, is ask, "is this God's will?" Personally, for me, I still struggle with this. I still struggle with truly accepting that God knows more. That He literally formed me in my mother's womb and gave me all the physical attributes and the personality that I have today. He knows every intricate detail, after all, He is the God of all understanding. So He most definitely knows my desires and He actually wants me to be happy, and knows exactly what I need. I, and many other Christians, need to understand that He has plans to prosper us and give us hope, to do us good and not evil. When we haven't built a foundation in Him, it's easy to ignore His voice and do our own thing.

That may by why we tend to jump into an opportunity without really praying about it, because the door is sparkly and inviting, it looks/sounds like a "good thing." We want the spouse, or the children, or the home, because it's shiny and nice but we don't want the parts that are not so easy. So we covet the convenience of the world seeking to fill a hole that only God can make whole. And when things don't happen fast enough for us, as everything else does these days, we jump at the next desirable thing that has always been there in our hearts because we never took the time to allow God to clean us out.

One example of this is when I hear women and men say they want a humble, God-fearing wife/husband but then they turn around and choose the complete opposite. Or, you see them liking thirst traps on Instagram! How can you say you want something Holy but you let the lusts of your flesh drive your eyes and your heart towards distractions? Why would God even bless us with such a gift as a God-fearing spouse when our actions, at the moment, prove otherwise.

Honestly, it's all about surrender(everyday is a process). When we haven't fully surrendered our hearts to Him, it takes us longer to see the bigger picture. It takes us longer to believe Him when He says that "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." That there are desires we have in our hearts that He placed there but we don't stop to ask God because we are scared that He will say no or make us go down an even bumpier road. So we ignore His wisdom. When you put God first, He actually gives you what you want, as long it's pure, of course. Most of the time, it's even better than we could have ever even imagined.

Also, we ignore what God has already given us through the blood of Jesus, He gave us wholeness. We don't realize that we already have everything that we need. It's Jesus. Yes we may want marriage, children, that promotion, a new car, or even a new home but because we haven't fully surrendered our hearts to Him, it takes us longer to see the bigger picture. It takes us longer to believe Him when He says that "He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him." And it's can be quite difficult considering all the times we have been let down and disappointed in this world. Fortunately, God is perfect, and if you don't believe me, get to know Him. Though it's a process, God will heal us and make us whole as we should be, thanks to Jesus, who died on the cross for us.

In another verse it says "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart." When I see this verse, I think of all the people who aren't too serious about being a part of the church, but the moment things go well, they praise God. Now which god, we don't know, because they never say Jesus, if you've noticed, that's a whole other topic, but my point is, I hear people say "the man

above." And it's weird because the whole time I'm thinking, if this is the career you have and it's really glorifying the Kingdom of darkness, how could you possibly think that God opened the door for you to be at such a high level deep deep into the world, nah man. Even some Gospel artist make me question their motives. I just think it's time we differentiate good from Jesus good. I think it's time we began to the utilize the measure of discernment that God gives to each of us.