Bits and Pieces
Miscellaneous Teachings & Testimonies
On Subjects Relevant To Intercessors

Do Not Try To Please God On Your Own

I had an experience that was a real eye opener for me. Let me start with a tad of background. I have learned that sometimes when I am frustrated about something in my day-to-day life, I transfer that frustration to feeling frustrated about a "failed relationship" in my past. At one time this person, let's call her Rachel, was a dear friend. We have been out of relationship for several years now. I won't go into the details but she wronged me in a painful way, and then she discontinued the relationship. I worked through forgiving her because forgiveness is SO important to our Heavenly Father; we can't harbor unforgiveness and be in intimacy with Him. I wanted to remain in intimacy with God, so I had no choice except to forgive and release her. But occasionally the "issues" pop up and replay in my mind. And when they come up I have to consciously choose to forgive again.

I got frustrated over something that happened at work that day. The next morning, I found myself strongly thinking about Rachel and what she had done to me. It only took me a few seconds to realize I was transferring my work-related frustration to Rachel. So I consciously told myself, "No, you are not really upset about Rachel. Stop trying to pin this work related frustration on her and deal with the real problem." I spent a few minutes praying through about the work situation, and God gave me a strategy for dealing with this work related issue that made me feel a lot less frustrated about work.

Then I realized I was still "harboring" traces of unforgiveness towards Rachel. I knew I had to deal with that by forgiving, and my thinking process went something like this:

I need to think this through on my own and come to a conclusion that would please God. Lord, please give me a few seconds here let me think this through on my own.

I know that God expects me to forgive Rachel, and if I don't, it will effect my relationship with God the Father. I don't want anything between me and God .. so I have to forgive her. It is good that I realized my real frustration was about work, not Rachel. But since this thing came up with Rachel again, I have to forgive her again. And I would really like God's help to put this thing with Rachel to bed so that it doesn't come up again in another 2 or 3 months.

Then I prayed, "OK, God, I am ready to talk to You now. First, I choose to forgive Rachel because I know that this will please You and You are very important to me. Also, I'd like You to please help me release this completely so that this does not come up again in a month or two. I came to this decision all on my own, and I think it is the decision that You would want. I sure hope my decision pleases You, because that is what I was trying to do in this, and because I am starting to think like You and look at things Your way."

The Lord's answer was a real shocker for me. "No, Teresa, you did not please Me at all. You asked Me to stay out of this while you worked it out and came to a decision. That means it was a work of the flesh, and works of the flesh are a stench in my nostrils. Yes, you came to the right conclusion, but you did so in a way I find distasteful. It would have pleased Me if you would have brought the problem to Me and asked Me to help you work it through My way. Never try to please Me by leaving Me out of the process and presenting to Me something that was done without My involvement."

Then I was reminded of John 15:4, which says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me."

I had to repent. Instead of pleasing God on my own, I had offended Him. God made it real clear to me we must not do a "work" or reach a "decision" intended to please God by leaving God out of the process. God wants to be involved in our decisions, and the Holy Spirit desires to lead us to the right conclusions and right decisions. He desires to transform us to be more like Jesus.. but He has to be the one to do it. We can't transform ourselves. We can't make ourselves holy and then present ourselves to God. Rather we need to present ourselves to Him and allow Him to lead and transform us.

Pondering God's Awesomeness

I had the most remarkable experience one day when I was working very hard on editing a teaching series, and it took a great effort and time. I had already put well over 60 hours into editing this series. I felt a bit frustrated because editing a transcribed tape is so much work.

Suddenly a voice in my "mind's ear" began to ask me questions about God and my relationship with Him. These questions were designed to get me thinking about and proclaiming how wonderful He is, how good He has been to me, etc. It was really like a conversation.. but without audible words. And the whole thing pointed to God's faithfulness, awesomeness, power, goodness, etc. It lasted for quite a while. Let me give you an example of part of the conversation.

"Teresa, has God ever been really good to you?"

"Yes, He has."

"Can you tell me about one or two times that His goodness really stands out in your memory?"

I proceeded to share a couple of incidents where I had been deeply touched by His love and mercy and forgiveness... times when I really deserved to be punished and He came with forgiveness, love and acceptance instead.

"What are some of the neatest things you have personally experienced with God?"

Then I would answer the question.

"So you feel loved by God?"

"Oh yes!"

"Can you tell me about a few times when He has really come through for you?"

The conversation got me to focus on all sorts of wonderful things about God's character, about my relationship with Him, about things God has done for me in my life, about neat ways He has met me, etc. There was no way I could focus on all of this without falling into worship. In fact, I was at much of a "spiritual high" as during a good worship session at church where God's presence comes over the congregation in a tangible way.

Then I asked if the "voice" that I was talking to was the Holy Spirit. It said, "No, I am an angel. I was sent to help you focus your attention on God and His goodness." The angel went on to tell me how much he enjoys hearing our testimonies of God's goodness to us and of the things that God does in believer's lives and hearts.

Then I asked the angel what God was like to him. He began to share a tad (just a tad) of what God "looks like" from an angel's perspective. He talked about His radiance and His glory and His goodness and love. Apparently, each and every angel has a personal relationship with God and they feel loved by Him. I tried to ask the angel some questions about what it is like being an angel, about his experiences, etc. But the angel refused to go there, saying that he wanted to keep the focus on God, not on himself. And each time I would try to wander, he would redirect my attention to God and His glory, His awesomeness, His power His goodness, His love, etc.

God is pretty awesome from the angel's perspective, too. One thing that the angel said about God really stuck in my memory. He talked about God's vastness. He said that he can watch what God is doing, but God is always doing so much, always interacting with so many people, always hearing so many prayers, that God is able to be in our present and in other times at the same instant.. and the angel is unable to see all that God is doing at any instant. God is bigger and more vast than even the angel can comprehend. (Of course, the angel expressed this much better than I am able to repeat it here. I caught a glimpse of God's bigness as he described it, and I was awed by my God.)

It was a really neat experience. I did not see anyone.. I only "heard" a voice in my mind's ear that did not feel like my own thoughts. (I suppose it could have been my imagination instead of an angel. But if it were my imagination, then the Holy Spirit must have been involved. And He must have been really redeeming my imagination -- because I don't think I was capable of imagining what the angel said about God on my own.)

I suspect it probably really was an angel that God sent to help me worship and focus on Him. But whether it was an angel or not, it was certainly an awesome experience to reflect on who God is and what He has done for me. I tell you, it is impossible to think about all the wonderful stuff God does in our lives and all the wonderful ways He meets us and not to fall into worshipping Him. God is awesome!