Thursday, September 21, 2017

The Challenge Of Rejecting The Reasonable For The Impossible


 A.W. Tozer “I claim the holy right to disappoint men in order to not disappoint God.”

{ELGIN} A friend posted that quote from A.W. Tozer this morning on Facebook.  It pricked my heart and resonated with my spirit, so I thought I would share it with you.  Sorry Oswald!  Sometimes - perhaps often times - we are faced with a choice ... men or God - God's ways are not our ways - but we would like to change that. If what God asks you to do does not conform to conventional wisdom there are two possibilities - 1 - God is indeed at work or - 2 - It's not God at all. You need the wisdom of God to know the difference - But nonetheless - when it is God - the opinions of men should not matter. Men will ask, "But what about .... ". God says "Go". He will say .. "sell everything ... pick up your cross .... love me with everything ... your whole heart .... If you love Me, obey Me." It's your choice who you obey. We choose God. The going will always require faith and obedience.

It would be a wonderful thing if the world was in sync with God, but we know that is not the case.  Trying to balance the two is what most of us try to do.  And it seems so reasonable when we do.  The problem is, that one will go wanting because of the other.  “No one can serve two masters .. you will love one and hate the other”  (Matthew 6:24)  If you turn to the world for answers when God has spoken and made His will clear, you will most often be tempted to disobey God to choose something more reasonable in the eyes of man.  Well-meaning Christians will speak to you about making other choices or at least delaying your obedience.  It is like the serpent in the Garden asking “Did God really say?”  [I am not calling my Christian friends serpents!]  Their counsel is well intentioned but, on the whole, with selfish motive.  Their arguments are logical even reasonable, except for one thing.  God said “Go”.  Jesus asked his disciples “Where is your faith?” “Why did you doubt?”  Instead of looking to Him, they were looking at the natural laws .. the impossibility of the situation … fear and doubt set in.  In our life, personally, God gives and He takes away … It is not our lot to accumulate possessions, for long any way.  It is not a question of how much of the world and its relationships that you must lay down at Jesus feet.  The question is “Are you willing to lay down whatever is in the way of what God has called you to?”  Like Jesus asked Peter, “Do you love Me [Jesus] more than these?” (John 21:15)  Well …. Do You? Then Jesus said to Peter - "Show Me"

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