I am ashamed to admit how much that statement described me. My morality was little more than a way to use God to get the things in life I wanted. Prayer was essentially a good luck charm, a way of controlling my environment so I could live a happy, pain-free life. God was to be my cosmic errand boy, ready to grant my every request. This was a slanted business arrangement about me, not a covenant with Almighty God.
As I searched the Bible for answers, God revealed a simple but transforming truth: This life is not about me; it’s about him. And my supreme delight is not to rest in anything in this world. My delight is to be in God. The best gift he can give me is not health or prosperity or happiness, but more of himself—a blessing that can never be taken away; a blessing that grows richer with time, and lasts throughout eternity.
His Surpassing Value
This blessing is often found in suffering. When my treasures disintegrate before me, when I live with pain and unfulfilled longings, when my dreams are shattered beyond repair, I begin to long for something more lasting. It is there that I find Jesus and realize that he is more valuable, more precious, more fulfilling than anything he can give me. He alone is the ultimate treasure. Knowing him is worth suffering for, living for and dying for.
In light of the magnificence of Christ, I see the foolishness of assuming I can earn God’s favor by my good deeds. All of my self-wrought righteousness is as filthy rags, and all I have been given is pure grace. Part of that grace is not giving me everything I ask for. I don’t know what’s best for me. I want easy answers, fill-in-the-blanks, pain-free predictability. I want a paint-by-numbers life.
But God is not after comfortable mediocrity. His artistry is unrivaled. He is creating masterpieces. God brushes unexpected color across the canvas of my life, says “no” when I beg for “yes,” offers his presence when I want his presents—because he has a much bigger plan for me … a plan that glorifies him and brings me everlasting delight.
God doesn’t grant my every request even when I pray faithfully. But he does promise to satisfy me with his unfailing love as he walks through every trial with me. And in light of his surpassing value, that is a far greater gift.
