Who Said It
Larry Osborne

Larry Osborne is an author who says, "I've always had a heart for the regular guy, the one who can't imagine ever becoming a 'super saint.' I like starting where people are, not where they should be, and pointing them towards the path of growth."

Larry is also the innovative lead pastor of North Coast Church in California's San Diego County, which is credited with originating the concept of video venues.

What He Said
Cosmic Consultant?

When God gives advice or guidance, it's not coming from a potentially fallible source. It's not the mere advice of a pastor or friend; it's the counsel of God!

When God speaks, it doesn't make much sense to push back or give him ten reasons why it won't work. That's an argument we can't win.

But who hasn't done this? We've all had times when we knew exactly what God wanted us to do, but we still decided that in our particular case our wisdom was better than his.

Every time that happens, our relationship with him goes through a fundamental role-reversal. He stops being our God and becomes our cosmic consultant.

Now a consultant is someone whose wisdom we highly value and listen to, but at the end of the day, we make the final decision. That's why they're called consultants.

Here's the problem: God doesn't do consulting. Never has. Never will. He does God. When we treat him as a consultant, he simply stops showing up to the meetings. We may think he's there. But he's not.

Adapted from A Contrarian's Guide to Knowing God (Multnomah, 2007) by permission.

Prayer for the Week

Deliver me, sovereign Lord, from attempting to manage You. Help me to honor You by trusting and submitting to Your control.

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