Candy machine religion
God does not exist to dispense goodies to us. God is not a cosmic candy machine. You can’t toss in some church attendance and a few bucks in the offering plate, then pull a lever labeled “prayer” and expect chocolate covered blessings to fall from the sky. Ah, but when we get the relationship right — when we see ourselves as servants of the sovereign Lord of the Universe — then our minds are able to recognize the constant flood of blessings that flow from God’s hands. And not just the little chocolate covered blessings, but the BEST stuff! The huge sustaining, undergirding, life changing, internal infrastructure building stuff. These are God’s greatest gifts. Unfortunately, you’ll never see them until you see the big picture and the key to that is surrender.