Welcome to the In Touch podcast with Charles Stanley for Friday, March 28th.

Have you ever been in such a hurry to get answers to your prayers that you wanted to help God out?

Abraham and Sarah did, and it was a disaster.

Today's podcast teaches how to learn from their mistake and avoid shortcutting the will of God.

If someone's building your house, you don't want them to be taking shortcuts.

If someone is working on your automobile, you don't want shortcuts.

If someone is designing something for you to wear, you don't want shortcuts. In other words,

you want it done well, you want it done right regardless of how long it takes. And most people

would look at something in their life, some area in which somebody has taken a shortcut, save time,

save them money, make them more money at your expense. Now, we don't like that, but when it comes to

getting what we want, when we want it, sometimes we want to take a shortcut. So there are areas in life

in which we can save time and money by taking shortcuts. We learn different ways to do things,

but there's one area in which there's no such thing as a

profitable shortcut, and that is a relationship to God. You just can't have shortcuts with him.

And so what I want to talk about in this message is shortcuts to the will of God. What really and

truly motivates us to take shortcuts?

Is it because some of intense desire we have, some need we have, some wrong thinking on our part,

or is it pressure from some other people?

And you'll hear people say, well, you know, here's what I think.

Now look, after all, you've been telling me that God promised you this.

Well, look, you know what?

God helps those who helps themselves.

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