“We don’t get brownie points for any of our spiritual practices. Measuring up to some divine standard isn’t the point. The main purpose is to connect us relationally with the God who transforms us and gives us the revelation and the vision to ‘see’ the unseen reality beyond our visible circumstances.”- Chip Ingram
Chip Ingram continues Chapter 5 of I Choose Joy as he observes that Scripture shows us three ways God delivers us. We might call them plan A, plan B, and plan C. Chip looks at the first two plans today.
Plan A: God delivers us out of something. From a human perspective, Chip states, this represents the most dramatic kind of deliverance. Hence, we plead to God to remove us from our circumstances or have them removed from us. And God answers our prayer.
Certainly, many stories from the Bible and from today’s experiences supply proof of this method. Yet, Pastor Ingram counsels, we need to look back and recognize God’s wisdom in choosing a different plan. Not a plan we would choose for ourselves, or for others. But a plan that accomplishes something far deeper and long lasting than simply solving a temporary problem.
Plan B: God delivers us through something. 2 Corinthians 12 tells us where the apostle Paul experienced this. There Paul relates that God gave him a thorn in the flesh to keep him from getting proud. But even though Paul prayed for God to remove the thorn, God provided a different answer:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NIV)
Therefore, Pastor Ingram underscores, God delivered Paul through the circumstances, not from them. Thus, God gave Paul what he needed in the midst of his circumstances. As a result, today we need to read the Bible, fast, and practice spiritual disciplines. Because they redirect our focus to what really matters.
Today’s question: What Bible verses help you avoid getting brownie points for spiritual practices and circumstances? Please share.
Tomorrow’s blog: “The infinite line of eternity”