Don't Negotiate Away The Clouds in life

​Confession time.

I am prone to trying to convince God I could do more for him where I wish I was than I can where I am. I hate the way that sounds - but it's true no matter how I say it. I am constantly trying to negotioate WITH God what I need to be of service TO God.

Negotiations that start with:

You know God, if you'd just help me out with my finances I'd be better positioned to do more for you.

You know God, if you just brought this person into my life.....

You know God, if I just lived there and not here....

You know God, if you'd just lift this habit or addiction from my life....

My negotiations with God are always dead on arrival because of two lies I tell myself. One - that God needs me to do more for him - because God absolutely does not. And two, that God wants to see me where I long to be in life more than he wants me to see him right where I am in life.

We can never feel God stronger than we can feel him in the feelings we have right now. We can never see God more clearly than we can see him in the circumstances we have right now. The God of tomorrow is never willing to give up his desire to be our God of the here and now. We will never out-negotiate him on that.

When our eyes are closed and we are holding on for dear life, wishing this day away, God is holding on to us with dear life wishing we'd open our eyes and see him - and open our ears and hear him.

"I am right here."

Oh, how wrong I get it wrong when I get to believing an invisible God gets more visible with a change of location in my life, when God never get easier to see than where I am right now.

Oh, how wrong I get it when I get to believing my peace in life is found in the negotiations - in the wishing - when more than I could ever think to wish for is found in the here and now.

God doesn't show up in my life when the clouds go away.

God is in the clouds.

I should probably start more of my negotiations with that truth in mind.

I should probably start saying, I love you in the clouds, God - more than I say, I can't wait to see you in the sun.

The clouds are thick this Sunday. Don't negotiate them away. There is more to those clouds than you can ever imagine.