In the midst of the poor economy and the stock market taking a beating, Christianity has back-slid some. Those trusting and believing in the financial institutions more than they should are facing a slight crisis of faith as they see their 401K’s, retirement, and savings dwindling away. People are cursing the markets and growing bitter and depressed as they lose much of what they had. They try themselves to regain or minimize their losses all the while looking up to God asking ‘Why?’
When times are going good we tend to forget where our blessings come from. We grow to think that we somehow accomplished our feats on our own. Our confidence in ourselves grows while we slowly, and inadvertently, minimize God.
William Law said, “We are looking for our own virtue, our own piety, our own goodness, and so live on and in our own poverty and weakness - today pleased and comforted with the seeming firmness and strength of our own pious tempers and fancying ourselves to be somewhat. Tomorrow, fallen into our own mire, we are dejected, but not humbled; we grieve, but it is only the grief of pride at the seeing our perfection not to be such as we had vainly imagined…”
Christianity’s rating has degraded because we ourselves try to accomplish everything by ourselves and we place God on the backburner to our own ambition and efforts.
Another point that was considered is our attachment to the blessings of God. We come to expect these blessings on a regular basis and shift our thought process on these from blessing to expectation. We become focused on the material and lose sight of where they come from. While God doesn’t mind sharing His blessings with us, wants us to remember and remain dependent on Him.
In a story about God and Elijah, Percy Ainsworth says, “God sent Elijah to the brook and it dried up. It did not prove equal to the need of the prophet. It failed; God knew it would; He made it to fail. ‘The brook dried up.’ This is an aspect of the Divine providence that sorely perplexes our minds and tries our faith. God knows that there are heavenly whispers that men cannot hear till the drought of trouble and perhaps weariness has silenced the babbling brooks of joy. And He is not satisfied until we have learned to depend, not upon His gifts, but upon Himself.”
Christianity has also downgraded due to the material nature we have let ourselves become accustomed to.
So what’s to be done? How do we restore our credit? We know we can’t do it ourselves for we have tried and failed.
“Perhaps only when human effort had done its best and failed, would God’s power alone be free to work.”[1]
“The Christian often tries to forget his weakness: God wants us to remember it, to feel it deeply. The Christian wants to conquer his weakness and to be freed from it: God wants us to rest and even rejoice in it. The Christian mourns over his weakness: Christ teaches His servant to say, "I take pleasure in infirmities; most gladly will I glory in my infirmities." The Christian thinks his weakness his greatest hindrance in the life and service of God: God tells us that it is the secret of strength and success. It is our weakness, heartily accepted and continually realized, that gives us our claim and access to the strength of Him who has said, "My strength is made perfect in weakness."”[2]
God wants us to be dependent on Him. In the midst of trials, we need not look to ourselves or to hide in our weakness or inability, but rather draw from God his wisdom and strength. That is how we return to restoring our credit, through God. We need to set aside our pride in our own ability, realize our provision is a blessing, and become more dependent on God. Don’t fall for the allusion that we create our own well-being.
George Muller said it well, “Here is the great secret of success. Work with all your might; but trust not in the least in your work. Pray with all your might for the blessing of God; but work, at the same time, with all diligence, with all patience, with all perseverance. Pray then, and work. Work and pray. And still again pray, and then work. And so on all the days of your life. The result will surely be, abundant blessing. Whether you see much fruit or little fruit such kind of service will be blessed.”
Depend on God and His provision and be grateful for each and every blessing He gives realizing they are gifts.
“The richness of God’s Word ought to determine our prayer, not the poverty of our heart.”[3]
[1] Corrie Ten Boom
[2] Andrew Murray
[3[ Dietrich Bonhoeffer
No comments:
Post a Comment