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Is You Glass Of Comfort With God Half Full Or Half Empty?
Contributed by Dr. Joseph Foster on Feb 27, 2012 (message contributor)
Summary: God is no respecter of persons but, when your glass is half empty it can sometimes feel that way.
Is your glass of comfort with God half full or half empty?
Comfort is such a wonderful thing to have with someone. We are comfortable with our spouse or mate, we are comfortable around our parents and grandparents and of course most of us are comfortable with ourselves but, is your glass of comfort with God half full or half empty?
How can we find comfort with God when we are in a time of crises? Better yet, how do we find comfort with God when we are content and happy with our lives?
It is my belief that finding comfort with God when we are happy and content is the hardest time of all to feel that sense of comfort in our heart.....some of you may disagree with me on that and that is OK because, finding comfort with God can be just as hard and sometimes harder when we are in a time of crises.
First, I think it is important to understand that God is with you in life each and every step. We have all seen the, "Footprints in the Sand" poster and it is true that when we are in the toughest challenges in life, God is there to carry us through it. This is why I say, "When we are content and happy we can sometimes find it hard to find comfort in God".
Lets take a look at what I mean and what I am speaking of. I have a personal friend who is a Millionaire, he is a great friend but not a religious person. You see, (in his mind) his glass is full and he has no need of anything. I posed the question to him one day, "What would you do if it was all gone tomorrow?" His response was, "I would just make it all back again". See, this person is missing something in his life and just doesn’t realize it at this point in time. My best bet is, if he was to loose everything tomorrow, and he struggled to get it back then Churches would come to him and start telling him, "Come to Church and God will give it all back to you". WHAT? Let me tell you, if you don't find favor with God when you are content and happy, don't expect God to find favor in you when you are without!
I see a lot of you rolling your eyes at me..... Most or at least some of you want to get up and leave right now because you believe that God would come to his rescue in his time of crises. I ask you, "Why would God give him something back he wants knowing that once he received this gift, he would simply turn his back on the Lord and say that he made the money, not God!" This person I speak of invited me over for Christmas Dinner one year. When it came time to eat, I asked him if he would like me to say a blessing over the food and give thanks for it........WOW, wrong thing to say there!!! His response was, "God didn’t cook this food, I did!" With that we sat down to eat.
So I ask you again, is it harder to find comfort with God when your glass is half full or half empty.
Let us all turn in our Bibles to 1Peter Chapter 5 verses 6 and 7.
1Pe 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
1Pe 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Lets for a second, reverse the role of my before mentioned friend. Lets say that he is a true born again Christian and he loves the Lord with all of his heart and soul. Lets then say that the friend loses all of his wealth due to the stock market crash or a Ponzee Scheme. His first reaction would be sadness and gloom. He would start looking at that glass of comfort and saying that it was half empty. Then, suddenly he would realize, "Wait a minute, I am a Christian and Philippians 4:13 says I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me! that glass is not half empty, it is half full, I am a true walking, talking, loving, ministering man of God. All I have to do is PRAY!" Now, would God be more inclined to help his other self or this self? Don't get me wrong, God would help both of them but, which one would he find more favor with?
I say this to you today, is your glass of comfort with God half full or half empty? Are you doing well today and have little needs if any or are you struggling and God is not hearing your prayers (so you think)? I once again refer you to 1Peter 5:6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he MAY EXALT YOU IN DUE TIME!, then go on to verse 7, CASTING ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM! It does not say to cast some of your care on Him, it does not say cast most of your care upon Him, it clearly says CAST ALL YOUR CARE UPON HIM! Why should you do this? So that He may exalt you in due time! God loves you, rich, poor or middle class, in the eyes of God there is no class, you are all His children and His promises he must adhere too. God cannot tell a lie! If He does, He would fall from power, He would be no better than the Prince of Lies. God is no respecter of people. If you are struggling right now, your glass of comfort is not half empty, it is half full. The arms of Christ are wrapped around you right now waiting for you to come to Him for All YOUR NEEDS. Are you letting Him in? Have you knocked, because He is waiting to open the door and finish filling your glass for you. All you have to do is get down on your knees and bow down before God right now and ask Him to come into your life. If you don't bow down before God now, I promise, you will bow down one day but, He will know you not.