What is the source of wars and fights among you? Don’t they come from the cravings that are at war within you? You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires. James 4:1-3  HCSB

The thing about video games is that as you learn to play the game well, you are striving to reach the next level. In that way you could say it mimics real life, right? We do well and move to the next level or at least we are taught that this is how it should be. We are taught to be ambitious. We are taught to grow. So, as you are reading this, I would like for you to stop right here and think about what level you are now striving to obtain. Maybe you really want that promotion at work. Maybe you are counting down the days till your retire. Or perhaps you are saving for a better car or a better house. Maybe you are hoping to pay off some of these things that you bought before you could really afford them.

As children we are taught to be ambitious and get ahead. Parents want their children to have a better life than they had, so they want them to go to school, get good grades, further their education, and get good jobs. We are always striving to get to the next level, whatever that level may be. We start out as babies on milk, and then we graduate to solid food. Hopefully we are in a loving nurturing home where we are well cared for. We reach those chronological milestones and eventually we are off to school and away from mom and dad. We are influenced by our friends, the games we play, the things we watch on tv. We begin to form our own ideas of the way we want to do things. We develop our own ambitions which may not always line up with those our parents had for us. Parents let me say right here if you want a good life for your children, the instruction for that is found in Proverbs 22:6 which tells us to start children off in the way they should go and even when they are old they will not depart from it. You can’t expect your child to follow God’s commandments when they are not taught in the home, just sayin’. If they are not taught to respect God and you in your home, they certainly will not expect His or your commands outside the home.

Now as adults we have ambitions as well. Understand that I am not saying that ambitions are not good, but this is where you need to really pay attention. It is good to be ambitious. It is good to grow when we put God first.  God gives us free will, this is true. But if you want things to work well for you, you need to be striving to do God’s will. When we do God’s will for us, this just makes our life much easier. This fulfills our life and gives us peace and joy. When our ambitions are selfish and self serving, this leaves us with a void. Just look back in Genesis when God created Adam and Eve. He created them to oversee and enjoy this beautiful garden that he had made. He gave them free will, but they were disobedient and were cursed as were the generations to follow.

Now maybe you are sick of this verse, but I am telling you that if you truly obey this verse, everything else will work out for you.  I use it over and over because I am trying to drill into you that this is the most important thing that we can do in our lives and for our lives. We must put God first (Matthew 6:33) We must focus on Him and keep our eyes on Him.  When we take our eyes off of Jesus, we become vulnerable to attack. We are subject to failure.

Jeremiah 29:11 tells us that God has good plans for us.  He wants us to have a good life. He doesn’t want any harm to come to us. But we have to turn to Him and trust in Him. We have to have a relationship with Him in order for Him to reveal His plans to us and guide us in the way that we must go in order for these plans to be accomplished.

If you are struggling and striving to get to the next level, stop. Let go and let God. Our scripture passage tells us that when we ask for things and do not receive it is because our motives are selfish. Look at why you are struggling to obtain this next level. Is it to bring glory and honor to the Lord or to you? Romans 8:28 tells us that all things work for the good of those that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.

God has good plans for your life. He wants the best for you, but he will not force it on you. You must turn to Him and submit and surrender your life to Him in order to grow in Him. That’s how you get to the next level. That’s how you win the game!

Have a great day!