Being reactors

I had an epiphany tonight as I was attempting to fall asleep. For whatever reason, I tend to think deeply about certain subjects late at night. Most of my creativity awakens when I am trying to catch some shut-eye. Something I have been mulling over in my mind is this idea of God and how He makes us stronger. We all have this tendency of being these needy children who constantly run to God when things do not go according to plan. If we viewed God as more of a parent figure than this Santa Clause-like deity in the sky, we would save ourselves a lot of disappointment. God, who is like a father, wants the best for us but we have to play by the rules. When you were living at home as a teenager, your parents(if they were responsible) would give you rules to live by under their roof. These rules weren't constructed to make your life "unfair" but were simply used to keep you out of trouble. A curfew for example would keep you from getting in trouble with irresponsible activities(drinking, sex, drugs, etc). Your parents wanted to protect you and keep you safe. God is similar in that He wants the best for you. One of my big issues in my spiritual life is when I only go to God with things that I don't like in my life. I ask God "please give me patience with this person or thing in my life". I found that I tend to ask God to give me this or give me that when I should seek Him to attain these various God-like qualities. If you want strength, seek Him for strength. If you want joy, seek Him for joy. God doesn't give handouts. You never get an appreciation for something when you are handed it. For example, my parents let me know at an early age that I had responsibilities. When I got a car, I was the one paying for the insurance and making sure that I took care of it. My car wasn't anything special. It was the only thing I was able to get with the money I had. I did appreciate having it because I could get from point A to point B. I had to work to put gas in it. I had to work to fix any issues that came along the way. It helped me to understand how life worked and prepared me to face other responsibilities and grow. The past month in my spiritual journey has also taught me that it is truly about having a Christ-like mindset. God gives us the strength to bring us out of the pits in our lives. God dealt with me about some issues that have been brewing inside of me for close to fifteen years. I always thought I was weak and couldn't break those ties in my life but I learned it wasn't anything in my strength. My mindset has changed and now I know what I can accomplish with God and the strength He gives me when I seek Him. I'm not writing this blog to sound ultra-spiritual but this is something that has had a profound impact of my life. I hope all of you can learn to be reactors rather than waiting for God to react to a situation in your life.