I WOULD NEVER...
Have you ever told God what you would never do or what He should never expect from you? For example, the Christian who swears she would never marry a minister or someone who would do anything for God except become a missionary or a missionary who would gladly serve God anywhere as long as his family never suffers severe sickness on the field.
Following Our Own Heart
These “never” statements can come up in conversation among friends or they can be hidden in our private thoughts. They reflect our core values and primal concerns.
“Never” statements in our minds can significantly influence the choices we make and the opportunities we pass up. But they are not always well thought through. They can be based on somebody else’s experience, commonly held views, trending ideas, or even unexamined myths.
What “never” statements amount to is drawing a red line that God mustn’t cross in our lives because we think we know what is best for us, and don’t really trust that God does.
Armed with non-negotiables when we seek God’s will in our lives, we limit what God can do because we limit what we can see. God respects our free will and does not force His way on us. The red lines we draw do not protect us. Rather, they hinder and deprive us of the more excellent ways of God, who reminds us: “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
In Matthew 16:22, Peter had just received divine inspiration that Jesus is the Christ, Son of the living God. But when Jesus revealed that death awaited Him in Jerusalem, Peter protested, “This shall never happen to you!”
Again, in Matthew 26:33, when Jesus warned His disciples at the Last Supper that they would all fall away like sheep scattering when the shepherd was struck, Peter swore, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”
In the first instance, Peter was rebuked for fixing his mind on the things of man and not of God. In the second instance, he would discover that he knew neither his own heart nor the heart of God.
Following God’s heart
Peter’s “never” statements revealed his lack of understanding. He was rebuked by the Lord but not rejected. In His desire for relationship with us, God does more than tolerate our misguided thoughts and misspoken words. With patience and grace, He shows us our ignorance, forgives our folly, and unveils His higher thoughts and better plans for us.
Marveling at God’s heart for us, David wrote in Psalm 139:16-17: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in Your book before one of them came to be. How precious to me are Your thoughts, God! How vast is the sum of them!”
God alone can and will stand by His absolute and resolute statements—not only the “never” ones, but the “always” ones too. “For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” (Hebrews 13:5b) And “Jesus said, ‘And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” (Matthew 28:20)
When Peter understood and accepted the necessity of Christ’s suffering and the cross, He became the pillar of the first century church, espousing a different “never” message: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” (1 Peter 2:6)
Search Your Heart
“So, if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from His perspective.” (Colossians 3:1-2, The Message)
Let us not be hasty in saying no to God regarding His plan for our life. This is especially true when it comes to missions. Even believers active in ministry often hesitate to consider missions because they don’t feel called, gifted, or qualified. But the Great Commission is for everyone. We are all called to be a part of it, are we not? God’s part is to guide and provide. Our part is simply to be open and available.
Reflection:
· What “never” statements do you have in your heart?
· What do they reveal about your inner desires and fears?
· Why is it hard for you to fully trust that God’s purpose and plan for you is the best?
· Have an honest conversation with God about this.
God knows us (Psalm 139) and is patient to work with us right where we are. In the following “Never Say Never” story, He addresses Joni’s identity issue, directs her career, and takes her where she never imagined she would go to discover the joy of growth and influence that she never imagined she could have.