Rick Warren's Blog, page 585

God Wants You to Give What You Get

What God gives to me he wants to give through me.

God is looking for people that he can bless the world with. He looks around and asks, ���Will you be a cup, or will you be a straw?��� If you���re a cup, you just get filled up, and that���s it. But if you���ll say, ���God, I���ll be a straw, and you can channel your blessing through me to other people,��� then that���s the kind of person God wants to bless.

Trust God One Day at a Time

God wants you to trust him one day at a time: ���Give us this day our daily bread.��� Not for next week. Not for next year. Not for next month. Just one day at a time.

God Is Waiting for You to Ask

God is the source of everything. Everything you see in the world and everything you can���t see in the world and in the universe, God made. He���s the source of every good thing in the universe.

What Is Your Daily Bread?

When Jesus says we���re to pray, ���Give us this day our daily bread,��� he���s talking about far more than just bread. In fact, the Bible tells us that bread represents four things.

What Does It Mean to Throw Away Your Life?

Surrendering to Jesus means laying down every area of your life. God wants you to learn to be a giver in life, not a taker. Jesus said, ���If you insist on saving your life, you will lose it. Only those who throw away their lives for my sake and for the sake of the Good News will ever know what it means to really live��� (Mark 8:35 TLB).

Wave Your White Flag and Surrender to God!

Surrender means leaving the future to God. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, ���Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths��� (ESV).

Why Doesn���t God Tell You Why Something Happens?

One of the reasons people struggle with contentment is because we���re always looking for explanations for why things happen in our lives. God doesn���t tell us why most of the things happen in our lives, and that just ticks us off.

Let Go, and Know God Is in Control

Every day, you have to decide who���s going to be in control of your life ��� you or God.

That choice is a battle. There are things in your life that you want to control. You want to make your own rules. But stress relief always starts with letting God be God. It always starts with saying, ���God, I���m giving up control, because you can control the things that are out of control in my life.���

There Is Nothing Too Big for God

God is a competent Father. He can handle any problem you give him. Nothing is beyond his ability or his resources. No request is too big or too small.

God Is Close, and He Understands

God is not as far away as the furthest star. He���s as close as your next heartbeat. He���s right there with you every moment. The Bible says in Acts 17:27, ���God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us��� (NIV).