“Mucho de nuestro estrés se debe al deseo de control total. ¡La vida es una lucha, pero lo que muchas personas ignoran es que la nuestra, como la de Jacob, es en realidad una lucha con Dios! Queremos ser Dios, y de ninguna manera podremos ganar esa lucha. A.W. Tozer dijo: «Muchos aún están confusos, buscando; apenas hacen pequeños progresos porque todavía no se han rendido del todo. Todavía pretendemos dar órdenes y entrometernos en la obra de Dios en nosotros». No somos Dios, y nunca lo seremos. Somos seres humanos. Cuando pretendemos ser Dios acabamos pareciéndonos a Satanás, que pretendía eso mismo. Aceptamos nuestra humanidad con el intelecto, pero no con las emociones. Cuando nos enfrentamos a nuestras propias limitaciones, reaccionamos con irritación, enojo y resentimiento. Queremos ser más altos (o más bajos), más inteligentes, más fuertes, más talentosos, más hermosos y más ricos. Queremos tener de todo y hacer cualquier cosa, y nos disgustamos cuando eso no ocurre. Al darnos cuenta de que Dios dota a otros con las características que no tenemos, respondemos con envidia, celos y autocompasión.”
―
Rick Warren
“Christlikeness is not produced by imitation, but by inhabitation.”
―
Rick Warren
“moved from other parts of the world to work here, but they keep their citizenship with their home country. They are required to carry a visitor registration card (called a “green card”), which allows them to work here even though they aren’t citizens. Actually, we all should carry spiritual green cards to remind us that our citizenship is in heaven. God says that his children are to think differently about life from the way unbelievers do. “All they think about is this life here on earth. But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives.”63 Real believers realize that there will be far more to life than just the few years we live on this planet.
―
Rick Warren
“Get rid of your old self, which made you live as you used to — the old self that was being destroyed by its deceitful desires. Your hearts and minds must be made completely new, and you must put on the new self, which is created in God’s likeness” (Ephesians 4:22 – 24”
―
Rick Warren
“Point to Ponder: If there were no God, and everything was a result of random chance, there would be no purpose to your life. It all starts with God.”
―
Rick Warren
“You know you’re surrendered to God when you rely on God to work things out instead of trying to manipulate others, force your agenda, and control the situation. You let go and let God work. You don’t have to always be “in charge.” The Bible says, “Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him.”13 Instead of trying harder, you trust more. You also know you’re surrendered when you don’t react to criticism and rush to defend yourself. Surrendered hearts show up best in relationships. You don’t edge others out, you don’t demand your rights, and you aren’t self-serving when you’re surrendered.”
―
Rick Warren
“Another of Brother Lawrence’s helpful ideas was to pray shorter conversational prayers continually through the day rather than trying to pray long sessions of complex prayers.”
―
Rick Warren
“A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life.”
―
Rick Warren
“Circumstances cannot change the character of God.”
―
Rick Warren
“Since pleasing God is the first purpose of your life, your most important task is to discover how to do that. Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it. EPHESIANS 5:10 THE MESSAGE”
―
Rick Warren
“It’s encouraging to know that all of God’s closest friends — Moses, David, Abraham, Job, and others — had bouts with doubt. But instead of masking their misgivings with pious clichés, they candidly voiced them openly and publicly. Expressing doubt is sometimes the first step toward the next level of intimacy with God.”
―
Rick Warren
“A second barrier to total surrender is our pride. We don’t want to admit that we’re just creatures and not in charge of everything. It is the oldest temptation: “You’ll be like God!”11 That desire — to have complete control — is the cause of so much stress in our lives. Life is a struggle, but what most people don’t realize is that our struggle, like Jacob’s, is really a struggle with God! We want to be God, and there’s no way we are going to win that struggle.”
―
Rick Warren
“Al fin de tu vida en la tierra serás evaluado y recompensado de acuerdo con la manera en que uses lo que Dios te confió. Eso significa todo lo que hagas. Hasta las tareas más simples tienen repercusión eterna. Si todo lo tratas como un encargo, con responsabilidad, Dios promete tres recompensas en la eternidad. La primera, Dios te dará su aprobación y te dirá: «¡Buen trabajo, bien hecho!». Segundo, se te dará un ascenso y una responsabilidad mayor en la eternidad: «Te pondré a cargo de muchas cosas». Entonces serás honrado con un festejo: «Ven y comparte la felicidad del Maestro». Mucha gente no logra darse cuenta de que el dinero es ambas cosas, tanto una prueba como un fideicomiso de Dios. Dios usa las finanzas para enseñarnos a confiar en él, y para mucha gente, el dinero es la prueba más grande de todas. Dios observa cómo lo usamos para probar qué tan confiables somos. La Biblia dice: «Si ustedes no han sido honrados en el uso de las riquezas mundanas, ¿quién les confiará las verdaderas?»
―
Rick Warren
“To make the best use of your life, you must never forget two truths: First, compared with eternity, life is extremely brief. Second, earth is only a temporary residence. You won’t be here long, so don’t get too attached.”
―
Rick Warren
“God doesn’t owe you an explanation or reason for everything he asks you to do. Understanding can wait, but obedience can’t. Instant obedience will teach you more about God than a lifetime of Bible discussions. In fact, you will never understand some commands until you obey them first. Obedience unlocks understanding.”
―
Rick Warren
