Tag Archives: Trust in God

Spiritual Maturity

Necessary Weakness

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You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem! Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you.   2 Chronicles 20:17 (NKJ)

I must admit that I have often felt ill-equipped for many of the opportunities I’ve been given.  Although my initial response is usually one of “caution and fear”, I always eventually experience God’s abiding presence and strength in the midst of my challenge.  Proverbs 3:5-6 is my “touchstone” (go to) scripture: “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”  I continue to learn daily to totally depend on HIM and the importance of necessary weakness.

In this postmodern society, self-initiative and personal accomplishment is glorified and cheered.  “Tooting your own horn” or “celebrating oneself” masks the prideful tendency of mankind to gloat in his own works with little glory given to God (Jeremiah 9:24).  Individuals tend to compensate for potential weaknesses through their dependency on academic degrees and personal experiences to provide, what they view, as viable solutions to life’s challenges.  As a rule, declaring one’s personal weakness is not well received by the world.

Even “God assignments” entrusted to both laity and clergy are first evaluated through the lens of personal capability and competency versus going first to God for instruction and empowerment.  We even view our spiritual gifts and talents as the only means to sustainable ministry success.  How foolish!  We fail to see the real ingredients for usefulness to God is weakness and inadequacy.

Also read:  Is it OK to be Weak?

Jehoshaphat gets an A+ for his quick recognition of his situation and his inability to handle what threatened the nation of Judah.  He put first things first—he “feared”, he “sought the LORD”, and he     “fasted”.  In their weakness, Jehoshaphat and Judah fixed their eyes on the LORD.  And the LORD responded and told them to “set yourself…stand still…and see salvation” (2 Chron. 20:17).

Imagine what would happen if we as a country, would acknowledge “our fear” concerning our nation’s future and cooperatively fast and pray (2 Chron. 7:14).  Visualize the impact if our churches collectively, regardless of denomination, would “cry out” to God to save our children from Satan’s attack resulting in senseless suicides and killings.   Picture the transformation we would experience in our communities and in our families if we would “stand before God” and declare our total dependence on Him and Him alone.  BUT we have not.  We continue to do what is “right in our own eyes” (Judges 17:6).  Through failed social programs, fractured political platforms, and misappropriated power, we unsuccessfully attempt to “fix ourselves” rather than acknowledge our weakness and need for God.

Let us pray for wisdom and humility to embrace our personal and collective weakness—to realize the spiritual truth that in weakness God’s glorious power is released.  Paul understood the truth of necessary weakness and dependency on the Lord.  May we begin today to do the same!

I have plenty to boast about and would be no fool in doing it…even though I have received wonderful revelations from God. But to keep me from getting puffed up, I was given a thorn in my flesh.  Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away.  Each time he said, “My gracious favor is all you need. My power works best in your weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may work through me.  Since I know it is all for Christ’s good, I am quite content with my weaknesses and with insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.  (2 Corinthians 12:6-10, NLT).

 

 

Spiritual Endurance

Faith to Persevere: The Application

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“All of these died in faith without having received the promises, but from a distance they saw and greeted them. They confessed that they were strangers and foreigners on the earth.”

Hebrews 11:13 (NRS)

 

All the Faith Hall of Famers “died in faith” not having received the promises but having seen them afar were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth (Heb. 11:13). The word “promises” in this text from Hebrews speaks specifically to the promised Messiah and their future heavenly inheritance.

As “partakers of God’s glory”, we have begun to receive the promises of God on “this side” of eternity (2 Pet. 1.3-11) with the glorious assurance of eternal life on “the other side.”  Informed with that knowledge of God (2 Cor. 4.6) and empowered by the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8), we can move forward with that which God has set before us “being fully persuaded, that what He (God) had promised, He is able also to perform (Rom. 4:21).

Here are three (3) key principles we can adopt from the Faith Hall of Famers to develop persevering faith.

  1. We must believe that He who promises is faithful. This requires that we know Him “personally”. Our schedule should include daily communion and fellowship with Him to better understand His will and His ways (Col. 1:9; Rom. 8:27). Would you put your life in the hands of someone you don’t know personally?  Our confidence comes from knowing Him (Deut. 33:12).
  1. We must understand His promises for our life. This is not only those promises we want for ourselves but those He has designated in His Word for us.  Some scholars have cited 365 promises of God for His people—one for every day of the year. All the promises of God are “yes and amen” (2 Cor. 1:20).
  1. We must look past our experience here on earth. While we acknowledge our presence on “planet earth”, we must remind ourselves daily that we are “pilgrims” traveling through this temporary period called “time”.  “Seeing afar of” requires visual acuity beyond our natural sight resulting in seeing beyond what we can see.  (1 Cor. 2:14-16).

I close with these words from Oswald Chambers concerning faith that perseveres:

Have you been asking God what He is going to do? He will never tell you. God does not tell you what He is going to do—He reveals to you who He is. Believe God is always the God you know Him to be when you are nearest to Him. Then think how unnecessary and disrespectful worry is! Let the attitude of your life be a continual willingness to “go out” in dependence upon God, and your life will have a sacred and inexpressible charm about it that is very satisfying to Jesus. You must learn to “go out” through your convictions, creeds, or experiences until you come to the point in your faith where there is nothing between yourself and God.

SELAH:  Meditate on Hebrews 11:13 and then ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what holds you to this earth and unable to “see afar off”.