Keep It Simple

I have never been accused of being the smartest person in the room. I don't think God planned for me to perform brain surgery. Knowing this, I try to keep things in the simplest form. I can still hear drill sergeants screaming "keep it simple stupid!" I am not equipped to understand what takes place to make my IPad function. Thankfully my wife can help me out. I am just grateful I can turn it on and check my email. I can already tell my kids will one day be smarter than me. Some think they already are.

Most of us find ways to complicate the things in our life. Our problems usually have a simple root cause and a simple solution. Just consider salvation. Very few Christians receive Christ the first time they hear the gospel. What could be simpler? It only requires acknowledgement and faith. Just as if someone is standing there holding a gift and all you have to do is take it. So simple, yet we find ways to make it complicated. We have trouble believing we can have something so wonderful without deserving or earning it.

What about getting our prayers answered? God longs for a personal relationship and cares about the many details of our life. So why would he not answer our prayers? I believe in most situations there are a few possible reasons. First of all, perhaps it is something that would distance us from him. He cares for us and knows what is best for our growth. How many times have we wanted something so much only to realize later we were better off without. Maybe at times He is answering with a no. Secondly, God may want us to eliminate sin before he chooses to bless us. It is generally no mystery what specific sin is keeping us from the Lord's favor. Other times we don't ask with confidence. Our weak faith is evident when we don't display an attitude of expectation. He wants to answer our prayers, but He also wants recognition that we believe He can. We are instructed to come boldly before the throne of grace.

If we keep this simple approach in our life we can avoid a lot of heartache. Instead of settling for "woe is me", we should look for the simple answers in the form of absolute truth. Sometimes we act as if we are content being miserable. This is very sad. The Christian life is meant to be victorious. When we sit in our self-pity we are wasting valuable time. Time that we could be influencing others.