Rick Warren's Blog, page 656

“By this time it was late in the day, so his disciples came to him. ‘This is a remote place,’ they said, ‘and it’s already very late. Send the people away so that they can go to the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.’ But he answered, ‘You give them something to eat.’ They said to him, ‘That would take more than half a year’s wages! Are we to go and spend that much on bread and give it to them to eat?’” (Mark 6:35-37 NIV)

In Mark 6, Jesus waited until the disciples got concerned about the situation before he did anything to address it.

“They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.... Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly.” (Mark 8:22-23a, 25 NIV)

The key to understanding what God is doing in your life is learning to see life from God’s point of view and having spiritual vision. The Bible says in Mark 8:22-23 and 25, “They came to Bethsaida, and some people brought a blind man and begged Jesus to touch him. He took the blind man by the hand and led him outside the village.... Once more Jesus put his hands on the man’s eyes. Then his eyes were opened, his sight was restored, and he saw everything clearly” (NIV).

“When [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’” (Luke 5:4-5 NIV)

As a follower of Jesus Christ, he expects you to obey whatever he tells you to do — even if it appears foolish to other people, even if it doesn’t make sense financially, even if you don’t understand it and you’re scared to death

“When [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.’” (Luke 5:4-5 NIV)

The Bible says in Luke 5:4-5, “When [Jesus] had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets’” (NIV).

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (Matthew 6:33 NLT)

If you want your life to turn from emptiness to overflowing, you have to give Jesus complete access to your life, including your career.

“When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” (Mark 6:34 NIV)

The best way to know that you’re looking at life from God’s viewpoint is to look at the way you see other people.

“His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, ‘He said this because we have no bread.’ Knowing what they were talking about, Jesus asked them, ‘Why are you talking about not having bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your minds closed?’” (Mark 8:16-17 NCV)

You’re going to miss what God is doing in your life if you remain focused on the here-and-now and not what God wants to do in your life long term. When you’re thinking about comfort rather than character, when you’re thinking about your happiness and not your holiness, when you’re thinking about enjoying now instead of preparing for eternity, you’re caught up in short-term thinking, and it will keep you from seeing life clearly.

“Then Jesus left the Pharisees and went in the boat to the other side of the lake. His followers had only one loaf of bread with them in the boat; they had forgotten to bring more. Jesus warned them, ‘Be careful! Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of Herod.’ His followers discussed the meaning of this, saying, ‘He said this because we have no bread.’” (Mark 8:13-16 NCV)

In the Bible, yeast is often a metaphor for pride and arrogance. Why? When you put yeast in dough, what does it do? It puffs it up, and if you put in too much, it blows it up.

“My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 NIV)

Some of you are in a rut, and it’s cold and dark and lonely. Some of you are on the road, and it’s scary and insecure, and you have no idea where you’re going or how long the journey’s going to take. And some of you are at the refinery, and the pressure is on.

“‘My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,’ says the LORD. ‘And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.’” (Isaiah 55:8 NLT)

Most of us have some need in our lives that we want met. And many of us try to figure how to get them fulfilled. You may be looking around saying, “Maybe God could do it that way” or “Maybe I could help God along with this” or “Maybe I could give a suggestion here.”