Who is the man that fears the Lord? —Psalm 25:12
{CHAMBERS} “A
child’s awareness is so absorbed in his mother that although he is not
consciously thinking of her, when a problem arises, the abiding relationship is
that with the mother. In that same way, we are to “live and move and have our
being” in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because
our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our
lives. If we are obsessed by God,
nothing else can get into our lives— not concerns, nor tribulation, nor
worries. And now we understand why our Lord so emphasized the sin of worrying.
How can we dare to be so absolutely unbelieving when God totally surrounds us?
To be obsessed by God is to have an effective barricade against all the
assaults of the enemy.”
{ELGIN} Reading Chambers this morning, my mind went
to the disciples in the boat as the storm raged and Jesus slept. (Matthew 8:23-27) I thought of Peter sinking beneath the waves
after he had started out so well, but lost sight of who was standing on the
water in front of him. (Matthew 14:22-33)
What was common in those two accounts.
The men struggled when life’s circumstances were too great for them to
personally bear and Jesus was there with them all the while. Jesus asked .. “where is your faith?” and “why
did you doubt?” The same can be asked of
us. I must make a distinction between
what happens to us and what we cause to happen to us. Often times we find ourselves in situations
that we, ourselves, have brought upon us, because of our flesh and natural
living. Then we cry out to the Lord to
save us, rather than endure the pain of what we have done. In those cases, I believe that God is looking
for a repentant heart and we, most likely, will have to endure the consequence of
our poor judgment or sinful choices.
It’s not God’s fault that I weigh 70 pounds more than I should and am beset with
physical problems associated with obesity.
It is not God’s fault that I am a compulsive buyer and spend more money
than I make so my credit cards are maxed out and each month I must decide what
bills will “not” be paid. It’s not God’s
fault that I have made choices to be unevenly yoked with a spouse or with
friends that have drawn me away from my faith and now I am facing sinful
consequences. I must bear the weight of
those decisions and actions. At the same time, I need to look to Jesus with a
repentant heart and seek forgiveness through Him from the Father. So often all we are looking for is relief from
the consequence and not spiritual restoration.
No comments:
Post a Comment