The Vending Machine God

Have you ever been tempted to treat God like a vending machine? You drop in a prayer, press the right button – health, success, happiness – and wait for your blessing to drop. But when it doesn't, you get all frustrated. Hmm. Is that really what it's all about? Charles Colson, once one of the most powerful men in the Nixon White House, was known as the president's "hatchet man" – ruthless, ambitious, untouchable. But when the Watergate scandal exposed the emptiness of his success, he fell to his knees and surrendered his life to Christ. From prison, he discovered a joy he'd never known – founding a ministry that would bring hope to countless inmates around the world. What began in disgrace became delight in God's transforming grace. Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. (ESV) King David wrote those words in a psalm contrasting the fleeting success of the wicked with the enduring peace of those who trust in God. It's not a promise that God will give us whatever we want; it's an invitation to let Him reshape what we want. When we truly delight in the Lord – when our joy, our satisfaction, our focus are centred on Him – He doesn't just meet our desires, He transforms them and exceeds them. So today, if your prayers, your desires, your needs feel unmet, maybe God's waiting to change not His plan – but your heart. Delight in Him first … and you'll discover that what your heart truly desires has been Him all along. That's God's Word. Fresh … for you … today.