A.W. Tozer “I claim the holy right to disappoint men in order to not disappoint God.”
A friend posted that quote from A.W. Tozer some time ago on Facebook. It pricked my heart and resonated with my spirit, so I thought I would share it with you.
“Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” - Joshua 24:14-15
Gods with a small "g" can be anything that we choose over God with a big "G". Sometimes - perhaps often times - we are faced with a choice ... men ways or God ways - do what God has made plain or yield to the advice of men - 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 - Spiritual discernment. But nonetheless - when your heart tells you 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. That choice will always require faith and obedience. And it requires not listening to "men".
It would be a wonderful thing if the world was in sync with God, but we know that is not the case. Trying to a balance between the two is what most of us try to do. And it seems so reasonable when we do that. The problem is, that one will always 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 that is 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!] Most often, their counsel is well intentioned. 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, speaking from personal experience, 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 personal relationships that you must lay down at Jesus feet. The question is “Are you willing to lay down whatever is that 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? When Peter said, "Lord, you know all things!" Jesus said to Peter - "Show Me". In other words, do what I told you to do.
Well Christian ....... He is waiting!
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