I am guilty of treating and interacting with God as a vending machine. I have this subtle expectation that if I put in the right things; in what I think, say and do, God will be more likely to do the things I want Him to do. The problem is, this attitude completely disregards the gospel.

As Christians we do not work to earn things from God. Who we are and what we do should flow out of what Jesus has done for us through His death and resurrection. The Bible makes it clear that we cannot please God on our own merits. Without faith in Jesus, it is impossible to please God.

Since we naturally fear the hard and painful times of life, we are tempted to treat God as a vending machine though. While no one looks forward to hard times, the one who knows Jesus knows that whatever comes into our lives, comes through the steadfast love of our Heavenly Father. He knows our needs completely and cares deeply for us.  He is the perfect Father with the best of intentions for His children.

While disobeying God often brings the discipline of the Lord, it is wrong to think that if we do all the right things (as if that was possible), we can avoid pain and suffering. In John 15 we are told that God prunes all of those who are in Him. When is a plant/tree at its best? It is when it is faithfully and carefully pruned.To prune something is to cut away dead and overgrown branches to increase fruitfulness and growth. Pruning is hard but if we remain close to Jesus we will bear more fruit for His glory and our joy.

When hard times come, may we interact with God as our heavenly Father.may we not try to control everything but rather trust that whatever may come, God will be with us and will supply all of our needs.

Because God is a God full of compassion and mercy, we can have great assurance that He will be good and do good for the good of His people and for the glory of His name.