15. (Moving Through Your Problems Toward) Finding God - Larry Crabb

"Did the fact ever cross your mind that you are here in this world just to understand the Lord Jesus Christ, and for no other reason?" -George MacDonald p.15

-Feeling better (recovering from pain, finding comfort) has become more important to us than finding God. And worse, we assume that people who find God always feel better. p. 18
"We have learned to praise God the way we tip a specially attentive waiter. Good treatment we expect, but exceptional treatment deserves special recognition.... But this is backwards! We have rearranged things so that God is now worthy of honor because he has honored us. "Worthy is the Lamb," we cry, not in response to his amazing grace, but because he has recovered what we value most: the ability to like ourselves. We now matter more than God." p. 18
"With his blood Christ purchased a people for God and made us priests to serve him (Rev. 5:9-10). We exist for him, not the other way around." p. 19

Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him."
-Not merely living, but walking with God. (Enoch's life.)
-"Agreeing to join him requires that every other ambition in my heart become secondary to promoting Christ. Anything that contradicts this purpose must be abandoned." p. 33
-"Our agenda is to fix the world until it can properly take care of us. God's agenda is to bring all things together in Christ until every knee bows before him." p. 35

"The deepest pleasures of life don't satisfy--they point us forward." p. 56
"Future hope is more valuable than present relief." p.61

-"No one will conclude that God is good by studying life. The evidence powerfully suggests otherwise. Belief in the goodness of God and the worship that naturally flows from this confidence depends on the revealing work of the Holy Spirit. When he ushers us into the presence of ultimate goodness, when our darkest tragedy is pierced by one glimpse of invisible glory, then faith is born. And the faith given by God's Spirit makes self-concern laughably unnecessary. We know we're in good hands no matter what comes. And our manner of living reflects our knowledge. We relax and get on with the purpose of life on this earth--worshipping God and advancing his kingdom." pp. 104-105
"You know you're finding God when you believe that God is good no matter what happens." "Finding God is developing, through Christ, an unshakable confidence in God's absolute goodness and perfect love no matter what we may experience in this life." p.106
Finding God means to face all of life, both good and bad, with a spirit of trust. We have a higher calling than finding joy in good things and working through bad things: we must reflect confidence in God in all our relationships and activities, in all our joys and sorrows.
"But our search for him must be on his terms. ... We are rather the judged, the forgiven, and the invited." p.107
-Replace the fallen structure on which so much of my life is built with a godly foundation.
-"Imagine relating to God with complete contentment, joyfulness, and eagerness to give." the foundation of "I Believe God" rather than "I Doubt God": You no longer doubt, but believe in his goodness.  You no longer feel terror, but feel calm at his words: "I'll never leave you. You can walk through the valley of the shadow of death with me. Be of good cheer. You'll have trouble in this world but I've overcome it. Your story has an ending too happy to describe. Trust me." You no longer feel rage, but want to worship. "God, you alone are worthy. I believe that those who love you will never be ashamed." pp. 107-8.

The last Word: Christ.
"To believe Christ (faith), to serve Christ (love), and to wait for Christ (hope): that is what it means to find God. But to the degree that you haven't found him, your passions are out of control. Trust is out. You want to explain and control;" p. 211
"Let your passion to heal become a passion to give hope. The wounds won't all go away now... but you can continue on, doing the work of faith and carrying out the labour of love...A better city awaits you." p.212
'It is time to find our way back to the living room and into the Father's arms, where we can listen to his Spirit tell the story of Christ." p.213
"I am making plans right now to take the step that God has placed before me. I've already taken it in my heart. Panic is giving way to the terror of trust. A quiet sense of adventure--almost a thrill--is replacing the despairing boredom. The world is too bad a place--and far too uncertain--to build a home and to count on enjoying it. But it's a perfect place to find God." p. 216

17-21 Feb, 2017
Singapore: Methodist Book Room PTE LTD, 1993 (Asia Edition)

P: A really good and honest book about the inner life of every Christian and how we can move through our problems toward Finding God, which is the most important thing.

A moving prayer-Anselm

"O God, I pray, let me know and love You, so that I may rejoice in You. And if I cannot in this life [know, love, and rejoice in You] fully, let me advance day by day until the point of fullness comes. Let knowledge of You progress in me here and be made full [in me] there. Let love for You grow in me here and be made full [in me] there, so that my joy may be great with expectancy while there being full in realization. O Lord, through Your Son You command--or rather, You counsel--us to ask; and through Him You promise that we shall receive, so that our joy may be made full. O Lord, I ask for what You counsel through our marvelous Counselor; may I receive what You promise through your Truth, so that my joy may be full. Until then, let my mind meditate upon [what you promised], let my tongue speak of it. Let my heart love it; let my mouth proclaim it. Let my soul hunger for it; let my flesh thirst for it; let my whole being desire it until such time as I enter into the joy of my Lord, the triune God, blessed forever. Amen."

(quoted via Gifted Response pp. 61-62)