The Safety of the Old

A Christian woman came to me who had an unconverted husband. She came to see that what she was asking for with her lips (his conversion) was not what she was desiring in her heart. After this revelation, she had the joy of seeing her husband become a Christian.

But this must not be taken to mean that we have a guaranteed formula for bringing a non-Christian spouse to the Lord. It is right to pray with passion for those in our families who are not converted, but we must remember that each man or woman must personally surrender his or her will to Christ in order to be converted. People are admitted into the family of God only as they give up their commitment to independence and say, in effect: “Heavenly Father, I can do nothing to save myself; save me, in Jesus’ name.”

A man came to me complaining that he was not getting what he wanted spiritually. He told me that he had a deep sense of unworthiness, and although he prayed desperately for God to take it away, it stayed with him.

After many hours of talking, praying, and heart-searching, he came to see that although in his head he was asking for God to take it away, deep down in his heart he was not desiring it. He had lived with it for so long that he was afraid of the new positive feelings he would have to face if the negative feelings were not there. He preferred the safety of the old to the adventure of the new.

Further Study

Lk 18:1-8; Dt 4:29; Mt 7:7

What characteristic did the woman display?

How can we be sure of finding God?