Another thing that we are often told is that we ought not tell God that we will never do things, as that is the very thing He will inevitably end up making us do. Over the course of 23 years I have discovered this to be undeniably true... but I think that it should be clarified with a few caveats.
While I have been placed in many situations that were challenging and difficult to deal with, I can honestly not ever remember a time where I was put in a position where I looked up at the heavens and screamed: “GOD! WHY???? I TOLD YOU I DIDN’T WANT TO DO THIS!!! WHY DIDN’T YOU LISTEN?!?!?!?”
Of course, even if that HAD happened to me, or it has happened to you, keep in mind that He IS listening, you just probably didn’t get the response you were looking for. That is not the thrust of my point here, however. My point here is very simple:
Perspective.
Perspective is huge, and over one little decade, your perspective can change in a huge way. I’ll start out with some obvious ones: at 10, kissing is still gross, by 20 sex sounds like the best thing on the planet; at 10 working is the lamest thing ever, at 20 you are grateful to even have a job; at 10 getting mail is the best thing ever, at 20 bills have soured you to the concept of mailmen. It’s really a very simple concept, while I don’t believe is macroevolution, the evolution of simple human growth is evident and irrefutable. So why shouldn’t this apply to how we view God and what He asks of us?
Take for example of aversion to working in any sort of fast food place back in high school: back then, yes, I hated the very notion of working in a greasy den of pimples and incompetency. I swore to God on many an occasion that I would never work in one. Where am I now? Fresh out of college and in desperate need of cash to pay bills and save up for things like a new car, an apartment and my future in general. Suddenly minimum wage at a fast food restaurant didn’t look quite so bad. Of course God didn’t give me a steaming pile of crap either, He gave me a job at Chick-fil-a, where at least three of my coworkers are Christians, and one of, if not THE, best reviewed fast food chains on the continent.
This simple idea of change and reformation has always been there, but we so often don’t think about it. Far too often when we tell God “I’ll NEVER do that!” we are suddenly struck with fear, awaiting that Zeus like bolt of judgement forcing us to do exactly what we hate the most. What we miss is that we are moldable, and that our God is a loving God. When we tell God: “I HATE THIS!” He doesn’t plot a way to make you as miserable as possible, rather, he looks at you, grins and says: “Challenge accepted!”
