All of God and None of Us
“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
I very frequently call to rememberance the words of Psalm 19:14: ”Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” But the walk of a born-again believer is not an easy feat is it-how do we let every word, thought or deed be pleasing in the sight of the Lord?
It is with all heartfelt sincerity that as beloved childtren of God, we seek to be pleasing in His sight-and yet we fall short over and over again-seems like we’re on a hamster’s wheel, continously going around…but FAITH in God, not in ourselves is the key-we must believe that He is the All Sufficient One! “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6.
That three letter word that has life changing consequences gets in the way of even those we deem to be the strongest of Christians of great faith. But let me put you on notice that the presence of sin is all around us. Whether you consider yourself to be strong or weak in the faith, that old arch-enemy of our souls, Satan and all his demonic forces is working double time to steal our joy, peace and hope in God- he incites fear, inadequacy, anixety, doubt and any other imposters of our mind and soul to convince us that we aren’t good enough to please our Savior.
But I just stop to tell somebody that Jesus paid it all on Calvary’s cross! It is because of His shed blood that we’re good enough . So, while the enemy is whispering in one ear that you’ve messed up, God is not pleased…the Holy Spirit counteracts the enemy with these words of assurance and hope in the other… that we don’t work in our own power ya’ll, but the all sufficient grace of God! “And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9.
My friends God’s strength is most evident when we are weak and rely on Him and not our own abilities. Matter of fact, if we could do it all on our own…we would have cause to boast-but it is all of God and none of us, that He has saved us and redeemed us unto Himself! “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9.
The Lord God Almighty, the Great Shepherd of the sheep knows exactly what He’s doing with us. Though we may be weak and feeble -never forget the words of 2 Corithians 4:7: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7.
Those times will surely come in all our lives when our hearts feel down or that somehow our witness is not as effective as we think it should be…but I admonish you to pull out the faith report of God’s servant Job and all that he endured…and yet he proclaimed: “But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” Job 23:10.
God is the joy and strength of our lives and we can fully rely on His faithfulness. We are equipped to win, assured that God is preparing us for something greater! “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” Philippians 1:6.
God’s abundant blessings of peace!
Amen!