Week
4 Obey and Submit
As
the Lord Enables
I can’t force God's timing, but my continued
efforts are nevertheless important.
The light of His enabling power will shine
in His perfect time and not mine. At that point I must still be willing to try.
~~~
A
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s we take our first steps toward obedience, discouragement
is a constant threat. We make sacrifices in response to God’s call on our
lives, but where is the fruit we expected to see from this willingness to
follow the Lord? And, once in awhile, someone is openly critical or even
hostile in response to our efforts to obey.
Even more frustrating are life
circumstances that fling us back into old patterns of behavior against our best
intentions and desires. For reasons we can’t necessarily chart, the Lord does
not always meet our determination to obey with His enabling power.
When the prophet Elijah was
overwhelmed, he spoke words that resound with the discouragement we feel when
our efforts toward obedience are frustrated: "I
have been very jealous for the Lord,
the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown
down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only,
am left, and they seek my life, to take it away" (1 Kings 19:14).
Poor Elijah had good reason for his
discouragement, but in general I think people of faith tend to give up easier
than those who are wise in the ways of the world. Sometimes we allow
trust in God to contribute to a helpless attitude that says, "Well, I
tried my best and God let this hard thing happen and so that’s that." We
give up our efforts toward freedom too easily.
In his commentary on the parable of
the shrewd manager in Luke 16, Matthew Henry says, "Worldly men, in
the choice of their object, are foolish; but in their activity, and
perseverance, they are often wiser than believers. The unjust steward is not
set before us as an example in cheating his master, or to justify any
dishonesty, but to point out the careful ways of worldly men. It would be well
if the children of light would learn wisdom from the men of the world, and
would as earnestly pursue their better object."[i]
When the enemy works hard to derail
our freedom efforts, we must pray to recognize God’s provision through the difficult
circumstances He allows. Like a loving parent who keeps firm hold of a
toddler’s hand and catches the child when he trips on bumpy ground, our Lord
does not let go of us: "The Lord directs the steps of the godly.
He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for
the Lord holds them by the hand." (Psalm 37:23-24 NLT).
The enemy will attempt to derail us
from our toddling steps toward freedom, but the Lord will not let go of us. He
never sleeps, always resides in our hearts, and is able to make us unstoppable
and unshakable. His timing is perfect, and He will work even through
circumstances that frustrate our fledgling efforts to bring the unruly flesh
under His control.
Pray: Lord, please renew my strength and hope; help me not to give up so
easily. Please cleanse me of the paralysis of discouragement and grant me
perseverance. Help me stay alert so I
will be ready to take the freedom path when You open the way before me. Lord,
please grant me Your enabling strength as I work to bring my flesh into
submission to Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name, amen.
~~~
God,
the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
he makes my feet like the deer's;
he makes me tread on my high places.
Habakkuk 3:19
…
I will strengthen you, I will help you…
Isaiah 41:10
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