It's all God

"Dear friends,

you always followed my instructions when I was with you.

And now that I am away,

it is even more important.

Word hard to show the results of your salvation,

obeying God with deep reverence and fear.

For God is working in you,

giving you the desire

and the power

to do what pleases him."

Philippians 2:12-13 NLT

The sound of birds singing praises to their Maker woke me early that Spring morning.  I arose, stepping foot into the awakening garden, feeling the softness of new blades of grass beneath my feet,  observing the buds opening here, the bright, cheery blossoms there.  As I examined the ground, it seemed to be coming to life with new growth: Blooms of the crocus trumpeted the end of Winter, Azaleas bursting forth with the hope of soon-to-come blankets of color, and even the weeds rising up from the seemingly dead earth show forth the hand of God.  There is no greater time than Spring to see that everything can be attributed to God.

When I look beyond nature and into my heart, I discover that even my desire to please God comes from Him.  I have it not in me to want to do the right thing, no matter what I think.  My sinful nature pushes me away from Him, but His loving Spirit constantly draws me.  As I notice how He works within me, it is evident that He gets all the glory for the great things He has done in my heart, life and in the world at large.

Moves my Heart

Much was needed for the sacred garments of the Levites, the performance of required rituals, and for the building of the Tabernacle itself.  The nation of Israel had received the law from God through their leader Moses.  Now they knew what was expected of them from a holy God, and they also realized the task that lay before them in undertaking this large project.  The first step after hearing the plan from God was to collect the necessary materials.  Moses must have thought of the enormity of this venture and wondered how it would all come together.

Then God did His work on the hearts of the people.  Exodus 35:20-24 describes how He stirred the hearts and moved the spirits of the people, prompting them to bring not only offerings to the Lord, but also all the materials needed for the Tabernacle.  It said, "Both men and women came, all whose hearts were willing" came to offer everything from richly colored thread to acacia wood. (Exodus 35:22a NLT)  There was no need for Moses to worry; God moved the hearts of the people to do that which pleased Him.

In the same way, God moves my heart to value Him above all things.  Instead of doing things that I think I should do, He gives me the desire to know Him more.  Oswald Chambers wrote about how easy it is to work toward the wrong goal.  He said when I focus on Christian work instead of on Christ, I'm evading my true purpose in maintaining my friendship and loyalty to Him.   "Instead of being friends of the Bridegroom, we may become amateur providences, and may work against Him whilst we use His weapons."

God moves my heart to desire a relationship with Jesus above everything else.

Changes my Will

She used to only care about herself and her needs; especially the emotional ones.  Consequently, she jumped from one man to another, seeking what could not be found in any mortal.  All that was left of her life was a skeleton of what she had once dreamed it could be.  How did she end up here, ostracized and the town's laughing stock, forced to visit the well in the heat of the day for fear of humiliation at the hand of the backbiting women who gathered there in the cool of the morning? (John 4:1-42)  The Samaritan woman had hit bottom.

Then she met Jesus.  As she heard and accepted the message of the Living Water that would forever quench that deep-seated need inside of her, the transformation began.  Instead of thinking about herself, she thought of all the townspeople who needed to know this Messiah as much as she did.  God had changed her will from wanting only to look out for herself to desiring to make Him famous.

In the same way, He changes my will so that I desire Him to be able to get His way.  Instead of seeing people who are living messed up lives, I perceive an opportunity to introduce those who are lost in darkness to the One who will make all things right.

God changes my will from only being concerned with my own happiness to desiring to make Jesus known to those around me.

Driven to Love

His heart was black with hate.  If it is the last thing I do, I will wipe these wretched people off the face of the earth.  He thought it the highest calling to beat, arrest and even kill the followers of Christ. (Acts 9:1-19)  Saul saw himself as a true follower of God and the Christians as his enemy.  

Soon, however, Jesus set Him straight by confronting Saul on the road to Damascus as he was on his way to arrest many believers.  Saul, who then became Paul, saw the truth of his actions and became one of those he used to persecute.  Instead of being obsessed with going after believers, he became driven to love all people in the name of Jesus.

The God of love who snatched me from the jaws of death as surely as He did Paul, has given me a deep well of compassion that springs up inside of me.  Suddenly, things I used to never think of doing, like reaching out to a drunk, showing kindness to a stripper or giving up something valuable for one who is in need becomes second nature.

God makes me driven to love those around me who live in a world devoid of compassion.

Everything comes from God and there is nothing for which I can take credit.  He moves my heart to align more with His, changes my will to desire what He desires and drives me to love like He does.  Everything good in my life is from Him and I can take no credit for any of it.  Because of this, I can point to all the good in my life and say with conviction, "It's all God!"

As I begin this day it is my prayer that I can remember to keep God front and center.

How do I naturally shy away from those who look different from me and fail to let God love through me?

When do I most notice the way He has transformed me?

God's Will or My Will?

"Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness."

Genesis 15:6 

Obedience could be defined as, "doing what you're told."  Most children find this a challenge, especially when a parent tells the child to clean their room, or to do some other despised chore.  Obedience is hard when it goes against the child's own will. 

It is the same with me in my relationship to my heavenly Father.  Obedience begins with Him.  He burdens my heart with a thing and I then have a choice.  Either I do what He is telling me to do, or I do not do what He is telling me to do.  In other words, either I obey or I disobey.  Its easy to obey when its something I feel comfortable doing, but what about when it goes against my own plans, my desires, or my comfort level? A prayer of philosopher and theologian Augustine's sums it up beautifully. "O Lord, grant that I may do thy will as if it were my will, so that thou mayest do my will as if it were thy will." 

Temper Tantrum  Obedience boils down to a surrender of the wills; my will for my Lord's will. We've all witnessed a battle of the wills between a 2-year-old and her parent.  Many times this ends up with the child throwing a temper tantrum because the child does not want to surrender her desire to eat some candy, for example, even though her mom said, "No."  Unfortunately, I have not completely outgrown the use of this tactic.  I remember when my husband and I were scouting out the area to which God had directed us to move.  As we searched for accommodations, we came across a house that had just been framed up in a new community.  The houses seemed too close together and there were no trees except the tiny ones the builders planted in front of each completed home.  I hated it and I decided I didn't want to live here.  Problem was, I knew this was where God wanted us.  So. . . I threw a tantrum.  I ranted and raved to God, but something happened as I surrendered my will for His.  A peace flooded my spirit and now, 6 years later, our backyard is filled with trees!  God isn't callous toward our feelings, but He is unyielding regarding His plan. 

Defiance   Obedience shows who, or what, is my lord.  When Abraham believed God at His word and then did what God said to do, He was showing who was Lord of his life.  He clearly had placed God in that position.  When Moses was presented with a mission in Exodus 3-4, however, he had many concerns and questions.  God addressed every one and eased Moses' mind.  But when Moses revealed his uncertainty regarding his own ability to speak what God had commanded him to speak to Pharaoh and asked God to send someone else, ". . .the Lord's anger burned against him. . ."(Exodus 4:14)  Moses lost the chance to speak to the leader of Egypt and witness God's power in his life.  Instead, Aaron was given the job to do.  Putting his own insecurities above God's plan revealed that God was not truly Lord of Moses' life. 

Actions Speak Louder   Obedience is followed by blessing.  It is easy to equate blessing with material wealth or gifts.  But God is not as concerned with our physical comfort, but in our spiritual health.  We are made right with God through faith, and obedience is the manifestation of our faith.  It is said that, "Talk is cheap."  Anyone can say, I trust God," but obedience shows that I trust God. When I trust God, I am showing that I believe He will do as He has promised and that God is a God who keeps His promises.  Our righteousness is a direct result of God's character.  He is able to justify the ungodly, and when I believe that, He credits my account with the blessing of righteousness (Romans 4). 

Obedience is a surrendering of the wills, shows who is first in my life, and is followed by a blessing from a God who keeps His promises. 

As I begin this day, it is my prayer that I can exchange my will for God's and willingly obey.

Where am I letting my fears become my god?

How can I better trust God and let Him get His way in my life?

"When God made his promise to Abraham, since there was no one greater for him to swear by, he swore by himself,  saying, 'I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.' And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised."

Hebrews 6:13-15 

A Broken Pot

Vulnerable    "I am a broken pot."  These are the words of a recently widowed woman.   No one I know strives to be a broken pot, but God looks for those who are broken.  Only then can He have his way with us.

My Effort   How does the law get in the way of our brokenness?  I see in my own life that when I focus on what I should or shoudn't do, I become bound to the law and think that I can become a better Christian by adhering to His law.  In my own strength I try to keep from becoming broken by doing what I think God wants me to do.  It doesn't feel good to be broken and everything in my flesh fights against it.  But what does God's Word say about this being broken?

Utterly Crushed    In Paul's letter to the Galatians he taught about the state of being crushed.  “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.  I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:19-21, emphasis mine)

Surrender   As we identify with Jesus' death on the cross, our fleshly desires are shattered bit by bit so that He can live and shine through us in those areas of surrender.  Brokenness is all about surrendering to God that which is important to us until all that is left is Jesus.  Our priorities fade away and are replaced by His.

Perhaps Oswald Chambers said it best, "Is He going to help Himself to us, or are we taken up with our conception of what we are going to be?"

As I begin this day, I pray that I can surrender one more area of my identity in order to become more associated with Jesus.

Where am I living for myself and refusing to surrender to Jesus?

Where is God breaking my will?