Seek God Himself
 
      If I should pray for all of the spiritual gifts listed in Paul’s epistles and the Spirit of God should see fit to give me all seventeen, it would be extremely dangerous for me if, in the giving, God did not give Himself, as well.
      We have mentioned creation and the fact that God has created an environment for all of His creatures. Because God made man in His image and redeemed him by the blood of the Lamb, the heart of God Himself is the true environment for the Christian. If there is grief in heaven, I think it must come from the fact that we want God’s gifts, but we don’t want God Himself as our environment.
      I can only say that if God gives you a rose without giving Himself, He is giving you a thorn. If God gives you a garden without giving Himself, He is giving you a garden with a serpent. If He gives you wine without the knowledge of God Himself, He is giving you that with which you may destroy yourself.
      I feel that we must repudiate this great, modern wave of seeking God for His benefits. The sovereign God wants to be loved for Himself and honored for Himself, but that is only part of what He wants. The other part is that He wants us to know that when we have Him, we have everything—we have all the rest. Jesus made that plain when He said, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33).
      It seems that Christian believers have been going through a process of indoctrination and brainwashing, so it has become easy for us to adopt a kind of creed that makes God to be our servant instead of our being God’s servant.
      Why should a man write and distribute a tract instructing us on “How to Pray So God Will Send You the Money You Need”? Any of us who have experienced a life and ministry of faith can tell how the Lord has met our needs. My wife and I would probably have starved in those early years of ministry if we couldn’t have trusted God completely for food and everything else. Of course, we believe that God can send money to His believing children—but it becomes a pretty cheap thing to get excited about the money and fail to give the glory to Him who is the Giver!
      So many are busy “using” God. Use God to get a job. Use God to give us safety. Use God to give us peace of mind. Use God to obtain success in business. Use God to provide heaven at last.