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September 18, 2024
- By Ed Powell
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"I have seen the affliction of my people which is in Egypt, and I have heard their groaning, and am come down to deliver them." Acts 7:34
"Don't steal tomorrow out of God's hands." You say, "How can we do such a thing as that?" Well, it's more prevalent than you think. We are so impetuous, unwilling to wait, always ready to run where angels fear to tread. We are not open to the "ways of the Lord." We are accustomed to "fast forward acceleration" that throws discernment out the window, and moves with reckless haste. We yield to our spontaneous lack of inhibitions, which sets us free to our limited wisdom, and eventually...we "crash land" in despair and defeat.
"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and yield not to thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6). That seems simple enough, but we have great difficulty following these brief words. God sees "down the road"...and wants to direct our steps, and have our heart and will focused on Him...so we will avoid the impulse and inclination of our self-directed ways.
"Trust in the Lord with ALL thine heart." This presents a self-evaluation to see if we are trusting Him at all, much less with ALL of our heart. That's a very inclusive word. It applies to everything we encounter...our conversation, thoughts, motives, decisions, focus, objectives, work, recreation, friends...in fact, the whole of our life. Is Christ the priority in ALL of our spiritual journey?
Then He says, "Lean not to thine own understanding." Well, you say, "I think I'm capable of making my own decisions and know what I want." That's true, but God knows not only what's good for you, but what is BEST. Our understanding is tainted with fleshly concerns, and desires that control our thoughts, which result in unwise decisions.
God simply says, yield the control of your will to Me. Let Me direct your thoughts, let Me lead you in the paths of righteousness. I want to take you from what you are to what I want you to be. Therefore, don't lean to your own understanding...it's faulty, fleshly, limited, and really not capable of making the wisest choice all the time.
What's next? He says, "In ALL thy ways acknowledge Him." You say, "Well, I try to do that, but I fail so often." Wouldn't it be a radical change if the Lord was the priority of your life, so the focus of your life would be fixed on Him in ALL things? It can be...if you will surrender to His Lordship.
This is not natural to our base nature...but it can be to our supernatural nature, when we yield to the new creative nature God has given us IN CHRIST. And what will He do? "I will direct your paths." Wow! What an exchange from our way to His way.
Now you say, "How does all of that relate to "stealing tomorrow out of God's hands?" In one word...EVERYTHING! When we fail to yield to the Lordship of Christ (the right to our control given over to HIS control) we "steal tomorrow out of God's hands." We hinder His work...the "molding" of our lives by HIS hands TODAY...so that TOMORROW, we may "be conformed to the image of His Son."
All He wants to do in and through us TODAY, is in preparation for what He wants to "make of our lives" TOMORROW.
© 2007 by Ed Powell. Used by permission.
This page was reprinted by permission from: http://litmin.org/dare.php?date=2024-09-18
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