WHO VERSUS WHAT

I’ve really loved some things God has done in my life, ministry, and world over the years. The problem is that I tend to fall head over heels in love with what He’s done. It makes me want Him to keep doing it. When He doesn’t, it kind of rips me.

In truth, I’m finding this to be a fairly common problem that I have…one that I believe all of us share. Though we may start out loving Him purely, as He begins doing some wonderful things in, for, around, or through us, we can begin loving WHAT He’s done more than WHO He is. When this happens, we can begin developing some bitterness and anger towards Him if and when He chooses to stop doing it.

In my life, this ultimately can boil down to the foundational areas of life…trust and security. I begin trusting and finding security in what He’s done rather than in who He is. This is a very dangerous place to be and can have serious ramifications on my relationship with God, others, and myself.

The solution…I need to remember that God has never promised to keep doing WHAT He’s always done. The fact is, He’s promised the opposite. He’s promised to do “new things”, (Isaiah 43:19). But, He has promised that WHO He is…faithful, trustworthy, unconditionally loving, everywhere present…will never change, (Malachi 3:6).

When I remember and embrace this, I can avoid falling in love with and trusting the wrong things. I, (and you), need to love and trust WHO God is…not WHAT He does.

Have you noticed this tendency in your life? How are you dealing with it?