08/19/3026
We think we are righteous, after all we have been working at it diligently for quite some time, maybe all our lives, and yet we are failing at pretty much the same frequency that we always have... so what is wrong? Why is progress in our faith so slow, or stalled? I am going to ask each of us to consider a simple question that might possibly drill to the heart of this struggle... Are we continuously seeking Jesus on our own, or have we said to him “here I am Lord, teach me, I am yours.”?
“For I [Paul] know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out.”
Romans 7:18 ESV
As humans it is our nature to work at things, well at least for most of us, and each one of us does this in varying degrees; you get the picture. We like to do things for ourselves, and we typically want to be shown how to do something once and only once, and then for our teacher to get out of the way while we go about doing it alone thereafter. Is this how we seek out our faith too?
I have a grandson who is especially hardheaded, and wants to do everything for himself. For example, when he is putting together a puzzle he wants me to sit beside him and watch, but not to help him in any way. For him to ask me for my help is a very rare thing. I could show him some tricks that would make the task easier, but he is adamant in his desire to do it on his own. By doing this it takes him hours, and sometimes he will put pieces where they don’t go, or give up before he finishes it. As I watch him I realize that this is exactly the way I often approach my faith.
We are not so different, my grandson and me... or you and I for that matter. We want to work the puzzles of our lives and faith out for ourselves, and then to call out to God...” Look What I Have Done Father!!!” Does this sound familiar? Do you read scripture and then ponder it on your own, or do you allow God to read it to you, and the Holy Spirit to give you understanding? Do you tell the Lord what you desire His will for you to be when you pray, or do you ask Him for it and then allow Him to show it to you? We can all be so much like my young grandson in our struggle against sin... it seems that the greatest lesson in faith is how to give ourselves over to God... to allow Him to save us, and to give us His grace.
I was reading a devotional by Pastor Andrew Murray, and he expressed this so well when he spoke of how dangerous it was for us to allow ourselves to take charge of seeking God, and then wrote of the joys of allowing Him to not just dwell in us, but to take command of our lives. Let’s listen to an excerpt from his thoughts...
“Remember, self that seeks to serve God is more dangerous than self that refuses to obey God. Look upon it with Holy fear, and hide yourself in Christ. Jesus Christ will indeed take possession of you and dwell in you; and in the restfulness, peace, and grace of the new life, you will have unceasing joy at the wondrous exchange that has been made - the coming out of self to abide in Him alone.” - Andrew Murray
When my young grandson wanted me to be there beside him, but refused my help, he turned a relationship into a performance. We have a tendency to do the same thing in our faith when we say, “Watch me Father! See how good I am!” But in reality we are not so good, and we have denied the one thing He wants more than anything else... our loving relationship with Him. To truly experience faith and believe, we must allow Him to command our lives with all He is, and everything He has to offer.
I have the greatest of admiration for teachers, Jesus was a teacher, and as He taught there were three types of people in His classroom, even as He delivered some of His greatest lessons… like the beatitudes. There were those who looked to Him as their wonderful teacher, those who were trying to decide if He truly had anything to offer them, and finally there were those who listened to His every word in an effort to discredit Him. So, I ask you to be honest with yourself as you answer this question... “Which of these are you?”
“And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction among the people.”
Matthew 4:23 ESV
To some of us who profess our Christianity we will say that Jesus is our Rabbi, or teacher, but for a great many of us we will say that He is, but then come to the realization that we are actually busy trying to decide if He really has anything to teach us. We find that we are asking if He has anything for us that we don’t already know, or that we can’t discern for ourselves... we read the Bible to Him, and puff up our chest in our intellect and all that we are able to understand. We want to control our relationship with our Heavenly Father... we want to sit on the front of the teacher’s desk and read the Bible to Jesus as if we know the depths of God.
Learning to let Jesus into our hearts can come relatively easy, but giving him full reign over them is something that doesn’t come quite as easily to us. We are a lot like my small grandson... he loves me, and wants me right there by his side, but he won’t allow me the pleasure and joy of being his teacher. He is missing out on much of what I have to offer him, and I am starving for the relationship I know we could have.
“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”
Colossians 3:15-16 ESV
So, if you are stuck in a spiritual rut, or find yourself committing the same old sins over and over again, then just maybe you are busy working at your faith alone in an attempt to impress God. Maybe you need to get off of the teacher’s desk, give God’s Word back to Jesus, and allow Him to assume His rightful role in your relationship. Maybe you should look up from the puzzle pieces and say, “Show me how to do this Father!”
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for dwelling within me, but even more Lord, I thank you for lovingly taking control of my heart and soul as I sit at your feet. I thank you for the relationship we have in which I find myself being led to greater righteousness, and even experiencing your holiness as your wisdom and grace radiates around and through me. You are more than just my God who I wish to impress, but my Heavenly Father who I want to please and be like. I want to learn who you are, Father, and not just what you are written or said to be. I want to see your goodness, your mercy, your wisdom, your knowledge, your peacefulness, and all the other attributes that are what you are made of, but more than that Lord, I want to dwell in the spaces between those things... I want the relationship which allows me to take all of those things that you are, and abide within you in the quiet places between them, between the wisdom and grace where I find who you really are... I want to be made alive in the “who” of your presence. Teach me Father, take the pieces of the puzzle that are before me, and guide my hand as we complete it together. Don’t let me get lost in myself, nor allow me to lose sight of what I want so desperately... to know and lean on you.
Your Son Jesus is my great teacher, your Holy Spirit my tutor, and Lord God you are the subject of my life’s study, and my loving Abba and Father. In your presence I desire to live forever as you lead me to perfection in my faith and belief. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who was, and is, and is to come. Let me lose myself in the glorious spaces between the descriptions that I am taught regarding you... and as I abide in you I pray that my obedience to your will for me leads me to find peace and righteousness in my faith and the true nature of who you are... the One True God in whose image I have been made.
“"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah”
Psalms 46:10-11 ESV
“Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.”
Matthew 19:21-22 ESV
Holy Father, don’t let my will get in the way of yours as you lead me to righteousness in your perfect will and don’t let my other possessions cause me to stumble over temptation and repeatedly into sin as I place great value in the pride I have in them and myself. Make me perfect in my relationship with you Lord, and as you do so let all honor and glory be yours alone, and praised by all creation forevermore.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes