Believing Left Is Right Because God Said It Is

My Utmost For His Highest

 

…but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ’s sufferings… —1 Peter 4:13

 

“If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a number of experiences that are not meant for you personally at all. They are designed to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what takes place in the lives of others. Because of this process, you will never be surprised by what comes your way. You say, “Oh, I can’t deal with that person.” Why can’t you? God gave you sufficient opportunities to learn from Him about that problem; but you turned away, not heeding the lesson, because it seemed foolish to spend your time that way.[…] When it comes to suffering, it is part of our Christian culture to want to know God’s purpose beforehand. […] Are we prepared for God to stamp out our personal ambitions? Are we prepared for God to destroy our individual decisions by supernaturally transforming them?”  CHAMBERS

 

I have talked to many people who had been confronted with the conflict of obedience to God and their personal, earthly ambitions.  The “American Dream”, which is not talked about much anymore, was owning a house and a car in the drive. (1 John 2:15-17) “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever.” We need to focus on the eternal. But, for many of us, the things of this world dominate us and demand that we reject God in favor of them. 

 

Do my words sound a little extreme?  Listen, if God made it clear what you must do, you are certain it is God and not a passing fantasy and you think, “I would love to but I have earthly commitments”, you have a devotion problem.  Oh, you are not alone.  God does not ask everyone to sell their house, quit their job, move to a third world country. But He commands everyone to keep Him first in their heart, to reflect His Son in the way they live and relate to the world, to not care if He does ask those things of them, to be willing to walk by faith and not by sight. (2 Corinthians 5:7) Well, do we or don’t we? In the military, when you march you step out with your left foot, which makes it the right foot.  God’s ways are not the world’s ways.  God defines what is right, which may look left to the world. We need to keep in step with God.  ELGIN