When we submit
our life to God, we
still often hesitate to completely surrender the total power over our existence
to Him. We have a lifetime of
experience with people letting us down, disappointing us and breaking their
promises and commitments to us.
We
withdraw within our self and rely on our own wisdom, strength and riches. However,
this accomplishes little more than building our house on the sand (Matthew
7:26).
Once
we realize the futility of our efforts, we often swing to the opposite side of
the pendulum. We are totally committed to Christ and we do not want to
displease Him.
Therefore,
we diligently search the Bible in order to completely understand the rules and
regulations of the law and what He wants from us. We attempt to religiously
adhere to even the most vague letter of the law (Matthew 5:18).
Our
heart is in the right place, because we do not want to disappoint God. However,
no amount of striving will produce any amount of righteousness in us at all
(Titus 3:5; Ephesians 2:9). Every bit of our righteousness amounts to nothing
more than a pile of old, dirty rags (Isaiah 64:6).
According
to the Bible, those who trust in their own efforts are foolish (Galatians
3:1-3). We truly believe, but we often need God to help us in our moments of unbelief
(Mark 9:24).
Those who walk in God’s wisdom are kept safe. Since, they understand and know the Lord intimately, He exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on their behalf (Proverbs 28:26; Jeremiah 9:23-24). Even in persecution and trials we are the victors.
God
delights in us and we are His people. He is our Good Shepherd and we are the
sheep of His pasture (Psalm 95:7; 100:3). He will raise us up to walk in
newness of life (Romans 6:4).
Prayer:
Father
God, thank You that Your plan included our sanctification. Our old way of life
is gone forever and now everything is completely new (2 Corinthians 5:17).
Thank You for ordering our days and blessing us in every area of our life as we
trust in You (Psalm 139:16; 2 Corinthians 9:8).
Your
ways are perfect. Your Son is the God of truth and there is no iniquity in Him
(Deuteronomy 32:4). Yet, in accordance with Your will, He suffered the
persecution and death of a common criminal to set us free from our bondage to
sin and death (Romans 6:23).
Thought
for the Day:
God
knows that we will drive our self crazy, if we continue to attempt to maintain
control over our life; therefore, He eventually leads us to the point in our
life where we step over our boundary of fear into the freedom of faith and
trust in Him.
