God sees everything. God sees more than you, or I can imagine. That’s a difficult concept to wrap our minds around given that half the people into their forties wear readers to be able to see if the can of creamed corn is microwave safe; then they ask their husband because even with all the squinting, they couldn’t make it out. In case anyone else had a similar dilemma, the contents yes, the can, no.
God sees. He sees past the image we try to present to the
world, past the words we speak when we think others are listening, past the
devotion we exude when we think others are watching, to the heart of man, the
inner thoughts, the inner desire, and the purpose for which we do what we do. God
sees what is there, what isn’t there, and what should be there instantly, from
the outside in, and nothing can be hidden from His eyes.
Anyone who’s been house hunting knows how deceptive the
outside of a place can be. From the outside, the house looks habitable,
attractive, and even inviting, but once you open the front door and walk
through, you notice that someone’s pulled up all the flooring, removed all the
pipes, spray painted the walls, and there’s a funky smell coming from somewhere
down the hall that you never want to identify. That’s how some people are, and
dare I say, that’s how some Christians are. On the outside, they are prim and
proper, wearing collared shirts and muted khakis, saying all the right things
at the right time, but inwardly, they are a tumult, a raging storm, a soul
absent of direction or conviction that seeks only its own ends.
Purity of purpose and purity of intent must be constant
companions when we journey down the road of fasting and supplication because if
the enemy can’t deter you from the act itself, he will attempt to defile your
intent and purpose in doing it. Our enemy is not passive. He won’t see you
pursuing a closer relationship with God and just shrugs his shoulders, thinking
that another one’s gotten away. He will prowl, watch, and wait, looking for an
opportunity, a chink in the armor, a moment of distraction and unwatchfulness
to try again, using new tactics and new avenues of attack.
Just because you want to draw closer to God doesn’t mean the
enemy of your soul has ceased desiring your destruction. On the contrary, you
will become an even bigger target, and he will devote even more time to trying
to ensnare you because less of you and more of God will eventually mean a greater
threat to the enemy's plans and machinations.
Let’s be clear: you can’t impress God, ever, no matter what
you do. Neither can I, for that matter. It is likewise a biblical truth that
you can’t work your way into His affections or become entitled to something or
other because you do a certain thing with all the regularity of a Swiss watch.
The overriding desire we must have when we fast is to be called a friend of
God, not to exploit the friendship to get something on the back end, but
because being called a friend of God is all we’ve ever wanted.
God knows the why. He knows the purpose and intent, and if
they are not pure, He will look upon our fasting and our supplication, our
desire to know His ways, and our delight in approaching Him, and count them as
transgression.
When I first got to America, I stayed friends with a kid who
ate his boogers, smelled funny, and had some sort of intestinal issue just
because his family had a color television. It was not my finest moment, but in
my defense, I was only nine, and it was the first time I’d seen a color TV. I
finally had to give up on the TV when his mom tried to serve Balut eggs for
dinner. There was only so much I was willing to do for the Dukes of Hazzard.
Eating an egg with a young chick inside wasn’t one of them.
That’s the thing. If you serve God for any other reason than
that He is Lord, King, and Savior, when what you’re serving Him for doesn’t
materialize as soon as you hoped, or in the matter that you hoped, you will
grow disillusioned, bitter, and write a manifesto no one will read on why you
left Christianity in the rearview. You didn’t abandon Jesus because He couldn’t
satisfy your spiritual man; you abandoned Him because He wouldn’t satisfy your
ego. You didn’t abandon Jesus because He was too strict and demanding; you
abandoned Him because you were too proud and stiff-necked.
If you can demean the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords,
you never really knew Him. You were just trying to use Him as a catapult to
achieve your desires. It’s as simple as that, and I’m tired of seeing people
waste their time trying to entreat and convince these formerly Christian, newly-minted
atheists that Jesus isn’t as bad as they think. Really? The Son of God who hung
on a cross, bled, and died for your sins and mine isn’t as bad as some pompous,
over-indulged, talentless naïve thinks He is?
There are only so many minutes in an hour, so many hours in a
day, and so many days in a month. You only have so many years to live on this
earth, and you must use your time wisely and judiciously. Trying to entreat the
favor of someone who’s declared themselves an enemy of the cross, hoping that
they lend you their ear, is likely not the best use of anyone’s time unless God
specifically spoke to them about that particular individual.
There are many in the dark who do not know that light exists. They are waiting for someone to point the way and assure them that yes, there is light, there is hope, there is forgiveness, and there is healing. To try and catch someone running away from the light, fully aware that it exists, stop them in their tracks, and somehow convince them that they should turn around and return from whence they fled is a far harder task than opening the eyes of someone who desires to see.
With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea, Jr.
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