The full title should read ‘The Danger of Taking God for Granted’.

Fact #1 God’s love for us is unconditional.
Fact #2 God’s promises to us are conditional.

When I first became a believer and encountered the love of Jesus, it was just the beginning of the journey ‘of a lifetime’. Life did not suddenly become easy and without bumps. I did not suddenly lose my worldly desires. What really took place was a sharpened awareness of right and wrong. It was an awakening of my conscience, which had been dormant until then.

1 John 2:16 refers to the world as ‘the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life’. These did not just evaporate overnight. They are part of sinful humanity, and only we can bring them under control by controlling our thoughts. It is a process, and everyone travels the road at different speeds. Some people yield to God more easily than others, often depending on their upbringing, background and circumstances. Even though I became madly in love with Jesus Christ, my behavioural changes took time to adapt to my new reality.

Some time prior to my spiritual epiphany, I had been on a goal-setting course which broke life into several categories, one of which was spiritual life. I realised then that it was an area where I was seriously wanting. So when I gave my heart to Jesus, I felt completely vindicated. I simply tucked Jesus under my arm, read my bible, and became immersed in church life, thinking that God would take care of the rest. That was presumptuous. God does promise never to leave us or forsake us, but He does not promise to make life easier. He tells us in Joshua 1:9 ‘not to be afraid because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go’. It is categorically clear throughout the Old and the New Testaments that storms will come. God does not prevent storms, but He helps us through them. This is a fundamental reality of the Christian walk.

I thought life would become easier, just like that, after a decision, automatically. But that is not the way God works. He wants to be the main event in our lives, not an added-on extra. The scriptures say the He is a jealous God. He will go to great lengths, and allow us to feel the heat of fires and furnaces, if necessary, to reshape our thinking. As I have mentioned previously, I kept a journal during my cancer treatment, and here are some notes that I kept.

1. God is love, His currency is hope, His modus operandi is fresh starts, His business is restoration.
2. Jesus does not force us to give up our rights to ourselves; we must do it of our own deliberate choice.
3. We can never outrun God. His love pursues us.
4. Salvation is sudden but we work it out for the rest of our lives. Oswald Chambers.
5. God has given me a purpose, a vision, a test of courage and character, and a pruning which has laid a foundation for a new chapter.

God is more interested in our character than our circumstances, which is why he allows hardships and tribulations in our lives. They provide us opportunities to clean up our thinking, improve our ability to hear His voice, and recalibrate our levels of commitment and obedience. He wants to restore us into becoming the persons He created us to be; ruled by Him and not by the lusts of the world. It is for our own long-term good.

The reason why it is dangerous to take God for granted, is that the lessons become progressively harder. He has promised that He will complete the work He has begun in us in Phil 1:6, and that He corrects those whom He loves in Proverbs 3:12. In my life I have been both naïve and arrogant, either not taking God at His word, and that He would somehow overlook my indiscretions. For many years I took His grace for granted.

Being naïve or arrogant at the same time is a dangerous combination which never ends well. It is an expectation that God will pick up the slack for our continued sinful behaviour. It is an abuse of His grace and His mercy, and sooner or later, God will find a creative way to correct us. As baby Christians, the Lord is more tolerant of our misbehaviour, but as we mature, He expects us to act on what we should know to do as per His will. We cannot continue to expect to get away without discipline. He will not continue to overlook bad and sinful habits. He is a Sovereign and just God, otherwise He would not be God.

Galatians 4:9 asks a valid question. “Now that you know God and are known by Him, how is it that you turn again and again to worldly behaviour which keeps you in bondage.”
Being naïve is to act on impulse, and that is all right in a child. Oswald Chambers says that impulsive behaviour in a man or a woman is disastrous and is a sign of a ‘petted’ (pampered, spoiled, indulged) individual. In other words someone who naively does not want to take responsibility for his or her behaviour. Chambers adds that impulse must be trained into intuition by submission.

Sir Isaac Newton’s third law of physics states that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. It is therefore naïve to believe that bad behaviour will be rewarded with God’s blessing. Habitual and ongoing sin leads to a chaotic life. The author of Hebrews 5:11-14 urges us to move from milk to solid food, from acting like babies to maturity, in order to discern both good and evil. God expects growth from us because He wants to bless us. He wants a better future for us, both in the land of the living (here on earth) and in eternity, and He chooses to use character-defining circumstances as His primary tool.

Romans 5:3-5 says that we are to glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance (patience), and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope which does not disappoint.
And James, the brother of Jesus, (imagine growing up in the same house as God) in chapter 1:2-4, says that we should be joyful when we fall into various trials, because the testing of our faith produces patience, endurance and perseverance, which when perfected, makes us mature, lacking nothing.

So, my friends, I implore you to take God seriously, don’t act with impunity, as though ignorant. Jesus said: “My people perish for lack of knowledge”. Make a commitment to be in a state of spiritual growth. It will bring many unexpected blessings and rewards.

As in every one of my messages, I write only from lived personal experience, for the glory of God. I make use of many reference books from a wide variety of Godly and reliable sources.
I thank The Lord for the privilege of His discipleship in my life.
I do not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished in me, as an instrument for His glory.
God bless every one of you, as you live and learn.

Please refer to The Salvation Prayer on the website if you want a direct connection with the creator of the universe, and are seeking love and peace of mind, for now and for eternity.