When My 'but' Gets in the Way

***Today's Live Free Post on http://tsuzanneeller.com/***

But...

As parents we all hate this word.

"...but Mom, I don't have time to clean my room."

"...but Mom, she started it"

"..but I don't like peas."

"...but my friends are all doing 'it'."

God is our parent, and He too, does not like the word 'but'. In all our humanness, it is easy to whine like our children do. When I don't especially feel like praying for someone because I am irritated with them or I am not feeling particularly loving towards them, I can say,

"...but He was never there for me when I needed him, so why should I pray for him?"

"...but She is an alcoholic and causes all kinds of heartache without apparently caring?" 

"...but He hurt me in the worst way possible."

"...but She doesn't deserve my prayers after all she did." 

These 'buts' are not what God wants to hear, just like it is not what we want to hear when we tell our children something they don't want to hear. When I let my buts get in the way, I am essentially failing God. I am telling Him that my feelings regarding whoever it is He wants me to pray for, are more important this His need for me to pray for them. God knows how we feel, but He also knows how we work. When I am praying for someone, it is harder for me to feel hatred or anger towards them. It softens my heart towards these people. We all have people or situations we don't feel particularly gracious towards, but we still need to pray for them. We need to be more intentional in our praying for people. (Something we discussed in our bible study last night as well)

Prayer is not the only time we tell God, 'but', or at least it is not for me. When it is outside my comfort zone, not only do I say no easily, but I can add a 'but' in there to also reason with God. Have you ever done this? I know I have.

"...but I am not the right person to do this."

"...but I can't speak in front of people." 

"...but there is no way I can do that. It's too far out of my comfort zone, that I can't see my comfort zone anymore."

"...but I am not good enough for this task." 

Do any of these sound familiar to you? When I let my 'buts' get in the way I am getting in the way of God's plan for my life. I am telling Him that what He wants does not matter to me. What He says is not as important as staying in my comfort zone, and boy do I love my comfort zone. Ask anyone.

My 'buts' are just excuses not to leave my comfort zone and if I don't leave my comfort one I can't grow. I can't become the woman God wants me to be for Him. I miss out on His plan for my life.

Until the Next Scribble....