PUT IN THE HARDWORK

Hi every1,
So my friend finally wrote and I love the write-up...pls read and let me know what you think...
Check my post on his blog...www.itayemi.com


The stuff below is my take on certain issues. Despite the fact that I quote from the good book, what I have written below is not necessarily Gospel Truth: I say the same thing Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:16: "But if any man seem to be contentious, we have no such custom, ..."
So, I am writing about our tendency to subjugate work to faith. Let's take me as an example for a moment. I am sure that like the average person, I have a lot of regrets. Some of them avoidable. For example, I lost a good job because I didn't put in the hardwork. Yes, I prayed, but like someone said, prayers and such things (e.g., fasting) don't change God; they make us better people. Now, I could say I will do better next time, but unfortunately, like many things in life, there isn't going to be a next time exactly like that one, as they say, life has no re-takes.
Don't you wonder why the bible says to put the works of your hand before God, and not your plans/desires/wishes/dreams (Proverbs 16:3) because He expects us to do some of the heavy lifting!
So a lot of us sit back and expect miracles, which is why we are where we are today: the unbelievers have got everything God promised us while we continue to twiddle our thumbs and expect manna from heaven. Why is this? Because those same unbelievers as we think of them, have not (or have no reason to) misinterpret the good book: they chose to grab life by the throat and choke the goodies out of it!
Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with hope. But we subconsciously or otherwise base our progress completely on it. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think as we don't know God's miracle schedule, we better get off our behinds and get doing.
You can definitely interpret the previous verse as "God helps those who help themselves"
I believe in miracles, but let's face it. Very few people are going to get the obvious kind of miracle which we call miracles (in the meantime, several miracles are bombarding us daily just like UV rays). If you wake up anyday and you are able to get up, that's a miracle right there. We take it for granted until it becomes impossible (which it will be if we live long enough). Now, maybe such things shouldn't be termed miracles, since God has decreed it to be so from the foundation of the world.
Now, let's go back to the "true" miracles. Why are we not experiencing it like the bible appears to indicate is possible (notice, I didn't say promise, since it's conditional)
My answer is this: God created the universe, with all its laws (chemistry, physics, etc). Set everything on a roll (and most especially since Adam sinned)and decided to let it "roll" with little interference from Him. Now, we do not know the mind of God (except as He reveals it), so apart from when (which probably appears random to a lot of folks) He decides to interfere here and there, the only way we can (appear) to force His hand is to have faith when asking for something. Now since we all pray like prayer is going out of fashion and nothing happens (I know some people are going to say I should speak for myself), it begs the question: "are there really any believers (including the clergy) with at least a mustard-size amount of faith?" Afterall, even Jesus wondered if he would find any true believers on his return (Luke 18:8b)
So if our faith isn't strong enough to cut it, we better roll up our sleeves and put our shoulders into it! Then maybe, just maybe, apart from the "natural" law of planting and reaping, He may just decide to multiply our effort with a little miracle!