by I have recently come to ponder the stuff upon which our Christianity today is built. Why is it that we don’t see the grand revivals? Where is the true power of the Word? When Adam and Eve in the garden chose to eat of the fruit of the tree, they started a trend that has snowballed into what it is today, and will end in the destruction and punishment of all mankind that remains in this sin.
What was this great sin? Trusting in one’s self and basically saying to God, “I am wiser at this than you are, and I can make my own decisions.” The individuality in us, that thing that makes self most important, is a divisive tool and stands greatly between God and man.
Why is this? Because the author of sin committed the very same act when he said that he would be greater and more important than God. Since then, he has been influential in organizing a revolt that he’s continued to grow since his removal from Heaven.
Non Believers are not the only ones effected, though. Have you ever stopped to marvel at the men of the Bible? These ones who have gone before, that witnessed so many miracles? Why aren’t people like that today? I mean, Jesus said that if we had faith the size of a mustard seed we could move mountains. Elijah is said to be a man of like passions as we are, and he caused it not to rain for three and a half years. What do these men have that we do not?
They had faith in God totally to provide. Elijah didn’t have a microwave oven and a pump to get water. He had to trust God. God led him to the right places, and he was able to minister. How often do you place trust in yourself in a day? Not just for decisions. How often do you trust the work of your hands? Be it your house, your chair, your car… anything!
We’re constantly placing ourselves in our place of trust. We trust in our backup plans, we trust in our creativity, our friends, our talent… We trust that if our car breaks down that we’ll be clever enough to get help or fix it.
Where is the spirit of prayer, like a Jehoshaphat who goes to God first when facing Ammon and Moab? Where is the Nehemiah who prays and waits on Him? They have been replaced with a world where prayer is a “good idea” and the “only thing that can help now.” Trusting God is that thing we do when we can’t provide by our own means. How many times do we pray to ask His blessing on our plans instead of asking that His plans be ours? How many times do we come up with our own ideas apart from Scriptural principles?
Our lives are too full of “I’s.” God wants us to be completely surrendered to Him. You wonder why things happen that we cannot control or do not have a plan for? It’s so that we stop trusting ourselves and trust in Him. For in Him we live and have our being, so why do we try to live outside of Him?
That’s a great post! Made my day.