I’ve been pondering the “Believe & Receive” philosophy again lately. I have a friend who says she’s been believing & expecting very diligently for an outpouring of blessings from God, but lately has seen nothing but sorrow & bad news in her life. She is wondering how long she has to keep believing & expecting before she sees a breakthrough. She is in a period of trial…indeed, it has been a long one. I have many friends who are going through long trials. I bought someone a plaque once that says “Trying times are times to try more faith.” True. But does that mean just believe you’re going to get what you want from God? What ARE we to put our faith in, after all? A specific outcome (yes, ask!) or the goodness of our God? I believe God is good & wants to bless us. He responds to our prayers. But I do not believe that it is simply how much belief or expectation we have in the cash register of God that causes people to receive or not receive His blessings, financial or otherwise. I do expect good things from my good God. But when people start to look at God as a cosmic Santa Claus who will grant their every wish, & not as a very personal Being who wants a relationship with them, then I think we have gone astray. Part of what bothers me, is the wording. “Believe & Receive” is a little bit deceiving, pardon the rhyming – sometimes that just happens ;-). But we do not decide what God wants to give us. We cannot just simply expect to give Him our Christmas wish list & have it granted – & when it is not, think it’s just because of our lack of faith. Sometimes “Believe & Receive” sounds more like “Expect & Collect.” We can believe & expect good from God, but what He deems good might not be exactly what we ordered. I think as long as we leave the final decision to God & don’t think it is the amount of OUR faith in, or the strength of our expecting a certain outcome that is important, we will probably be alright. I think the key here is in our knowing that God is good & wants to bless us as believers, & that God wants our faith to be put in HIM & HIS goodwill & good judgment. I think that is the important thing. May we believe & trust our Heavenly Father as we go our way today!