We Disciples tend to get really enamored with ourselves from time to time. Something happens that we know God did and all of a sudden we think we are so big and mighty. If that happens too much we forget where all of our power and our strength come from and then life gets out of perspective or focus. What we should clearly see as God, becomes some God and some us, when it is all about God....nuff said!! The psalmist writes in 121:1 "I lift my eyes to the hills--where does my help come from?" In other words, my help comes from the Lord!! It doesn't come from me or any other human source. What is the end result of all this type of thinking? Nothing less than pure praise and adoration to the one sustainer, Our Lord God!!
Think about the birth of Jesus and the significance of Mary. She is thought to be like God in some faiths, but we know that she was the bearer of the Son of God. When Jesus was born her significance was paled by the wonder of the Son of God. She was very important and used by God, but the one who was born took everything to a new level. That seed blossomed into full bloom through the ministry of three years, the death on the cross, and the resurrection after three days in the grave. Jesus' time in Mary's womb led to a birth. Jesus time in the grave led to a new birth for each of us. In the end, it was all about God, and His great plan, and His great power. Those completed prophetic events still power us today. When you accept Jesus as Savior and Lord, that rebirth begins a process in each of us that enables us to be more than conquerors, through the power of God, not ourselves!! Paul wrote to the church in Rome in Chapter 8:37 "In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Our rebirth in Jesus is the beginning of awesome God power being seen in and through us in an incredible way. That power gives hope to our hopelessness strength to our weakness, light in our darkness, and vision to our blindness. It's takes an out of focus life and gives it clarity. Without the power of God, everything in life is still blurry. Jesus gave examples of our vision being out of focus in Matthew 7:5 "take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye." In this example we once again try to be God by judging, as though we have been given the right to judge. End result- blurry vision and an out of focus life. Bumping through our life without the sight to see things as God sees them puts us at a disadvantage when trying to react to the many things we deal with on a daily basis. This out of focus position stunts our growth as a believer and puts a tendency in our thinking that just won't work. It puts a tendency to trust our own strength more than we trust God's strength. That unclear thinking results in unclear living and causes us to rely on ourselves. Bad move!! Self reliance is caused from a lack of God reliance and that is a troubled soul. Paul wrote to the church in Philippi these great words Philippians 4:9 "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me-- put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you." What was Paul telling or living in front of them? Trust God....Trust God, and then Trust God. Paul was a great example of a focused life. A life of clarity and power that was given to Him by God. He was at peace because he knew his strength comes from the Lord. Real peace. What he was doing was much bigger than him, it was God sized.
The sooner we realize and put our total reliance on God the sooner our lives will have the clarity Jesus wants for us all.
So before you run out and try to do something on your own strength, stop, pray, and trust God to show you what to do and then do it. His strength is sufficient for all things.
A weakness of all human beings, " Henry Ford said, "is trying to do too many things at once. That scatters effort and destroys direction. It makes for haste, and haste makes waste. So we do things all the wrong ways possible before we come to the right one. Then we think it is the best way because it works, and it was the only way left that we could see. Every now and then I wake up in the morning headed toward that finality, with a dozen things I want to do. I know I can't do them all at once." When asked what he did about that, Ford replied, "I go out and trot around the house. While I'm running off the excess energy that wants to do too much, my mind clears and I see what can be done and should be done first."
Let God clear your mind by realizing that He is the one in control and all of this "following Jesus" stuff is way beyond us, because it is all about Him.
The writers of Hebrews put it all in perspective for each of by saying Hebrews 12:1-5 1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. 2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. 4 In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
Step back from thinking all of this is about you and you will see that you have been blocking the view for others to see the real source of all we say and do and His name is Jesus. It's all about Him..
The Pilgrimage continues..
David Warren
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