Living a Guilt-Free Blessed Life

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Dear Reader,

Stop what you are doing.

Step back for a minute and mull over this question because it’s too important to pass by.

What prevents you from asking God for MORE?

I had a writing friend ask a similar question this past week, except in his situation he was addressing the worth of one’s work. But it got me thinking… I have no problem asking God for help. I’ve got Him on my heavenly speed dial. 😉 But when I want to ask God for blessings, I have a harder time. I begin to believe I’m selfish. I start to step back. It becomes a real battle, and I’ve come to realize my hesitation isn’t built on logic. It’s built on guilt.

I feel bad asking for more when I’ve already been blessed so much. I imagine God shaking His holy head in disappointment, wondering why I would pray for bountiful harvests when others’ fields are worn thin. I feel greedy. I begin to think it’s wrong. How can I ask for more when there are so many who have less?

But this train of thinking can be dangerous to the Kingdom… If we believe we are in charge of deciding whose needs or longings deserve more attention, we border on playing God. Instead of asking what He can do, we inadvertently put Him in a tiny box. It’s not our job to be God. We are called to imitate Him and live our lives like our Savior. But it’s not our job to decide who deserves His provision and favor. Sometimes we forget that God cannot be contained. He has never operated within limits because He is beyond them. Our generous Father doesn’t have a quota of resources that will run dry and leave others lacking. His blessings and grace are sufficient to cover all people at all times. And He is really good at doing His job.

To top this off, even though we are trying to show compassion by not asking for more, we can actually trivialize our own trials. When we buy into the lie that our needs are not as important as others, we devalue worth. We minimize our requests. And while God wants us to provide for those who are struggling and stand with those who are hurting, He doesn’t want us negate our own hearts in the process. He doesn’t want us to bury our God-given desires for the sake of manmade guilt. Our walks with Jesus do not involve human tradeoffs, with one need superseding the other. God has already made a sacred exchange through His Son, which means our salvation, as well as our favor, are based solely on Him. In His eyes we all stand at the same level. We are all loved. We are all forgiven. We are all saints. We can’t EARN more of God’s grace, but we can approach our Maker and ask for more of Him. We shouldn’t feel bad for bringing our desires to Jesus. We shouldn’t weigh ourselves down with guilt when He has already made a way to provide for every single person’s need. It’s been freely given. It’s up to us to freely receive.

I, like every other human on this planet, recognize that our world that is not yet Paradise. Because of this fact, our reality is two-fold. We have been blessed with every spiritual blessing in heaven. But we also live in a fallen place where suffering and beauty coexist. On the same day I celebrated my brother’s wedding I found out a friend passed away. On the same day my husband received a work bonus another’s husband was laid off. When I was running in perfect fall weather, a hurricane was crashing into small islands. This ground we walk on is made up of BOTH life and death, blessing and brokenness, praise and pain. On our journey into eternity we become wounded worshipers – people who raise their hands in the storm, knowing their God has promised a rainbow at the end. He is faithful. He will give us a new song to sing.

Psalm 67:5-7 says, “May the nations praise you, O God. Yes, may all the nations praise you. Then the earth will yield its harvests, and God, our God, will richly bless us. Yes, God will bless us, and people all over the world will fear Him.” In a fascinating twist of events, our wounded praises actually help usher in the blessings of God. We aren’t praising to receive more favor. On the contrary, when we praise our King, He opens up our hearts and shows us the blessings that have always been ours. Thanking God helps us see life through the lens of God, and it makes us want more of Him.

Sweet friend, don’t worry about asking too much from your Father. Don’t let guilt rob you of the opportunity to see God come through. Praise Him. Ask. And then receive. He really does have the whole world in His hands. Let’s show the them how good our God truly is.

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