Put Your Hope In God

My Utmost For His Highest

‘The fact that I am trying to be right with God is actually a sign that I am rebelling against the atonement by the Cross of Christ. I pray, “Lord, I will purify my heart if You will answer my prayer— I will walk rightly before You if You will help me.” But I cannot make myself right with God; I cannot make my life perfect. I can only be right with God if I accept the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ as an absolute gift. Am I humble enough to accept it? I have to surrender all my rights and demands, and cease from every self-effort. I must leave myself completely alone in His hands, and then I can begin to pour my life out in the priestly work of intercession’ CHAMBERS

Have you ever made a deal with God?  Promised that if some event happened or did not happen that you would respond to Him in some particualr way?  It reminds me of a term we used in the Army, .. ‘foxhole religion’.  That is when a soldier is facing certain death and he makes a deal with God .. get me out of this God and I will … or I will never again …. Then as soon as the danger has passed, the commitment … which could never have been fulfilled and never was going to be fulfileld … was forgotten by the one who made it.  They have ‘religion’ only while they are in the foxhole.  Do you find yourself in the foxhole of life?  Facing difficulties .. problems bigger than you are and then thinking if God would get me out of this … But maybe .. "in it" .. is just where He wants you to be .. maybe He is going to teach you something about trust and faithfulness while you are in that crucible.  Would God do that? Yes.

When we face difficulties and when we don’t, God doesn’t want promises .. He wants us  … surrendered to Him …Micah 6:8 … “What does the Lord require of you oh man?  But to do justly .. to love mercy … and to walk humbly with your God.’

See anything about me making promises in that verse?  Nope? Neither did I.  Philippians 4:6-7, 1 Peter 5:7 .. and other verses tell us to focus on God and not our problems … to put our full trust in Him and not ourselves … that theme is repeated over and over in the Bible because it is critical to living the life of faith and repeated over and over because we have such a hard time doing it …

‘Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.’ Psalm 42:5

Bondye Beni Ou (God Bless You)