"He (Abraham) did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully convinced that what He had promised He was also able to perform." (Romans 4:20-21)
Why do we waver in faith? Why do we fail to uphold all of our beliefs at all times no matter the circumstance?
As I was reading this passage today, I tried to measure myself up against Abraham - who wasn't necessarily without his faults. However, Abraham's faith to leave his home in pursuit of God serves as the ultimate testament of faith.
I believe the perceived security of the place that we are at this moment is a big reason why we don't follow God fully or completely. When we are told to do a certain action or to leave our current comfortable situation and go elsewhere, it is a difficult thing for us to do. Currently, I'm in arrears on my tithes and I can certainly think of so many ways I can apply the funds to projects or charges that are coming up for our family.
But is that really trust? Is it really trust to not do the things that God has given us to do in faith? Malachi 3:10 is a promise from God that we will be rewarded when we bring our tithes to the storehouse. It is a promise that if we trust Him, He will bring even more into our lives.
What can God do with a person that doesn't trust Him? If God were to ask us to do this or that thing, and we never do it because we don't want to leave our comfort zones...what would we accomplish for God? Nothing really.
It isn't about works, but it really is about faith. I'm not trying to justify myself through the tithe - but I'm evidencing the level of my faith.
Matthew 6:21 says, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
If I can't give from my bank account in faith, then my heart is only for myself and not for God. I know it and feel the truth of that. And I don't want to be a man who is no longer able to follow God because I'm worried in the flesh about my security. Then I will not only be of no use to God, I would never be able to evidence my faith to my wife and children. And that would be the greatest tragedy of all. I would be failing in my primary dream to pass along my relationship with the Lord to my family.
The unique thing about my feeling today - and something that surprises me even at this moment - is that I don't feel any sense of guilt...and I think that is a very good thing. God doesn't lay guilt trips because He knows that following His ways is for my best interest...He doesn't need me to do anything, but He gives us the opportunity to partner with Him for the good of our souls. I know that in today's reading and meditation, I am really hearing from Him and it isn't from some misguided desire to prove something, or justify myself by works.
Lord Jesus, I'm really blessed by our time today. I needed a reminder about the meaning of the tithe and meaning of faith. I know that to trust in my bank account or my paycheck is a giant folly, but when we live in the flesh everyday, we can fear the future and not entrust ourselves fully to You. The tithe is really the ultimate symbol of our faith in You. You don't need our funds, but You want our hearts to be free from the slavery to money and things. In return, we can be responsible with any further blessings we may be given. I want to be more and more like You, not more and more like the world. Thank You for spending time with me today to remind me of that. In Your loving and holy name, AMEN.
Showing posts with label Trust. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Trust. Show all posts
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Friday, April 16, 2010
Letting God Overcome
"And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace." (Ex. 14: 13-14)
Israel was scared. They had just come out of a life of subjugation in Egypt and they appeared to be trapped before a sea. Egypt was angry that they had lost their source of slave labor and sought to destroy the nation of Israel with a magnificent army bearing down on a poor and hapless people.
God however, was on the side of Israel. They were His people whom He had promised to shepherd to their new lives in their own nation. In the face of panic, Moses reminded Israel who their true keeper really was.
It is the same for us as Christians when we encounter trials. I walk through life trying to remember the Lord, but most of the time I'm only doing my own thing - working my own agenda. "What do I need to do today?" "I need to do this immediately." "What do I do to fulfill me?" Everything revolves around me.
However, the Lord did not require his children to do anything when they were facing the deadly armies of Egypt. They were simply to obey. Trust and obey.
The doing is in the obedience, not in trying to gain any kind of control over a situation. The Lord has everything absolutely under control. Every day, every moment, is already planned out by Him into its proper place.
Lord Jesus, I am tempted to be my own God most of the time. Consequently, when trials come, I worry about what I need to do to rectify a situation. However, I simply need to ask You for wisdom and it will come. I simply need to trust that You will set every little thing into its proper place and in its proper time. My responsibility is not complicated when I do that. Let me rest in Your peace Father, and know that it has been arranged for the good. Stepping out of Your order will only strain what You have planned. Help me to rest in You today. In Jesus' name, AMEN.
Friday, April 9, 2010
Trusting God With The Outcome
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)
Today I’m going to be interviewing for a position that seems like a decent opportunity. I have been prepping and I am feeling discomforted by the whole process. I want to do well for sure, but I don’t know if I am really ready. There isn’t more that I can study or prepare, probably just to do some light review, but what is done is done at this point.
What I started to forget is simple Biblical truth in my nervousness and desire to control the outcome. All this stuff – interviewing, trying to present myself well is all good. People should interview, people should try their best to put their best foot forward. However, God is the ultimate employer. He gives to each exactly what should be given at the proper time.
Whom shall I fear? Do I fear the whims and opinion of man? Do I dwell on what they can do to me? It is to my shame that I realize that I am so often concerned about other men’s opinions that I forget that the Lord is my God. The Lord placed me in certain key positions to have a career in accounting. I cannot say how and why it all happened, but it is the truth. I am what I am today because He saw fit to get me into a Big 4 accounting firm. I know for sure that I didn’t do it all on my own (because I didn’t really deserve it), but He did it. He planned it and opened the door accordingly. Whom shall I fear?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Prov 9:10-11)
Rest in God’s wisdom and His leading. That is the message for today. I may or may not get this position. That is ok. God is in control and He will bring the right thing at the right time. That much is a certainty. I may have career goals and aspirations, but it is God who has veto power and the plan for my life. If I am to be an accounting manager, He will open that door. If I am to be even a police officer, which would be an odd thing since I have no aspirations to do that, He will open that door. It is God that makes men who they are and what they do.
I had tried to make myself “want” this position and to be motivated by the “want”. I realize that isn’t entirely right. To be driven by want and desire is of Satan. Satan wants us to covet and to seek out our own glories. We will then get wrapped up in the seeking, some made bitter by failure and others made haughty by success. Either way, God is pushed out of the picture.
The Lord instead asks us to simply be, to wait, and to trust. He has a plan and we will strive to do our best where we are at, doing the things we can, but ultimately waiting for HIM to clear our paths.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” (Prov 3:5-6)
God is the director. God is the leader. God has our lives completely mapped out in a good way. God works for the good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purposes (Rom 8:28). As a Christian, I have been called. God plucked me out of the depths and darkness of my sins where I was stumbling around in hopelessness, and He gave me life and life more abundantly.
There is very little I can do to “screw up”. God will still be at my side and God will accomplish what His plan is in my life. As long as I remain open to His leading wherever He prompts, I know that to be true. That is the ultimate definition of fear of God over man.
My path is set before me and it is fine. I no longer have the “want” for this interview to be successful – I simply will be and trust in whatever result occurs knowing that God is ultimately in control. If this position is where I should be, the proper door will open. If not, it will close. Neither result is good or bad.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your message through Your word today. I really didn’t expect to hear from You when I started journaling out of my nervousness, but You are always faithful and eager to grant wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5). For whatever reason, You have chosen to bless me and I am in a good place. Perhaps this interview is the next step, and perhaps it is not. What I desire is Your ultimate result. I can’t screw up because it will go as You planned. So my prayer today is to simply ask to help me do my best as well as I am able. Help me to be energetic, lucid, concise and even interesting. However, the ultimate result is in Your hands as it should be. May Your will always be done in my life and may I always rest in You. Thank You Lord. In the name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, AMEN.
Today I’m going to be interviewing for a position that seems like a decent opportunity. I have been prepping and I am feeling discomforted by the whole process. I want to do well for sure, but I don’t know if I am really ready. There isn’t more that I can study or prepare, probably just to do some light review, but what is done is done at this point.
What I started to forget is simple Biblical truth in my nervousness and desire to control the outcome. All this stuff – interviewing, trying to present myself well is all good. People should interview, people should try their best to put their best foot forward. However, God is the ultimate employer. He gives to each exactly what should be given at the proper time.
Whom shall I fear? Do I fear the whims and opinion of man? Do I dwell on what they can do to me? It is to my shame that I realize that I am so often concerned about other men’s opinions that I forget that the Lord is my God. The Lord placed me in certain key positions to have a career in accounting. I cannot say how and why it all happened, but it is the truth. I am what I am today because He saw fit to get me into a Big 4 accounting firm. I know for sure that I didn’t do it all on my own (because I didn’t really deserve it), but He did it. He planned it and opened the door accordingly. Whom shall I fear?
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.” (Prov 9:10-11)
Rest in God’s wisdom and His leading. That is the message for today. I may or may not get this position. That is ok. God is in control and He will bring the right thing at the right time. That much is a certainty. I may have career goals and aspirations, but it is God who has veto power and the plan for my life. If I am to be an accounting manager, He will open that door. If I am to be even a police officer, which would be an odd thing since I have no aspirations to do that, He will open that door. It is God that makes men who they are and what they do.
I had tried to make myself “want” this position and to be motivated by the “want”. I realize that isn’t entirely right. To be driven by want and desire is of Satan. Satan wants us to covet and to seek out our own glories. We will then get wrapped up in the seeking, some made bitter by failure and others made haughty by success. Either way, God is pushed out of the picture.
The Lord instead asks us to simply be, to wait, and to trust. He has a plan and we will strive to do our best where we are at, doing the things we can, but ultimately waiting for HIM to clear our paths.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” (Prov 3:5-6)
God is the director. God is the leader. God has our lives completely mapped out in a good way. God works for the good for those who love Him and have been called according to His purposes (Rom 8:28). As a Christian, I have been called. God plucked me out of the depths and darkness of my sins where I was stumbling around in hopelessness, and He gave me life and life more abundantly.
There is very little I can do to “screw up”. God will still be at my side and God will accomplish what His plan is in my life. As long as I remain open to His leading wherever He prompts, I know that to be true. That is the ultimate definition of fear of God over man.
My path is set before me and it is fine. I no longer have the “want” for this interview to be successful – I simply will be and trust in whatever result occurs knowing that God is ultimately in control. If this position is where I should be, the proper door will open. If not, it will close. Neither result is good or bad.
Lord Jesus, thank You for Your message through Your word today. I really didn’t expect to hear from You when I started journaling out of my nervousness, but You are always faithful and eager to grant wisdom to those who ask (James 1:5). For whatever reason, You have chosen to bless me and I am in a good place. Perhaps this interview is the next step, and perhaps it is not. What I desire is Your ultimate result. I can’t screw up because it will go as You planned. So my prayer today is to simply ask to help me do my best as well as I am able. Help me to be energetic, lucid, concise and even interesting. However, the ultimate result is in Your hands as it should be. May Your will always be done in my life and may I always rest in You. Thank You Lord. In the name of my Savior and Lord, Jesus Christ, AMEN.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
In Times of Trouble, Where is My Hope Placed?
"Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit." (Jer 17:7-8)
Where is my hope and where is my trust? Those are very pertinent questions for me today as I begin to assess where I am at the moment. My family is facing some potentially large financial commitments, and I don't have a steady job at the moment. I am working as a temp right now, and I am very grateful for the work - truly, it has been provision from the Lord.
However, I don't have the solid financial footing to undertake our potential purchases, and that is a little unsettling. "How in the world are we going to do all this?" is the question that comes to mind very quickly.
I sift through all the calculations that I can come up with, and it doesn't add up. But then, I am reminded when I read this verse - "Bryan, who and what are you placing your trust in?" Am I trusting in my own abilities, the number in my bank account, or on random fortune?
All that ignores the Lord entirely. I am not saying that the Lord is my genie to grant me any wish that I want, but what I am saying is that the Lord provides appropriately and at the right time.
The trial is not the important battle to win, but rather it is my response to the trial that is the true test. When push comes to shove, will I stand on my worldly possessions and skills, or will I instead dive into the arms of the Lord? Is my belief deep enough to keep my leaves green during the time of drought, not sucking life from the world, but subsisting on the word of God alone?
I must remember the Lord and simply pray to Him. Yes, I will do whatever I can with my own two hands, but I will leave the ultimate provision to Him. He will provide for us one way or another - I don't need to wonder or worry. Once it goes to Him, it will get taken cared of in the proper way at the proper time.
Lord Jesus, I know that the decisions that have started to weigh on me are not really mine to make. You know what is best for me and my family, and You have never led us astray. No, You have always been faithful, and even now You provide for us in the midst of a tough job market. I have always had favor from You and I know that this time will not be any different. You have a plan and You have a future laid out for us. Forgive me for my moments of unbelief where I have not put my life squarely into Your hands, but instead have tried to wield it all on my own. In the process, I almost lost all the lessons that You've been teaching me over the past 6 months. Thank You for drawing near to me again and holding us steady although the world howls around us. In Your glorious name, AMEN.
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