December 4, 2014 Submitting To God

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Come near to God and he will come near to you.  Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (James 4:7-8a; 1 Thess. 5:18 NIV)

Do I fail to attempt things for God because I think I am not talented enough? Do feelings of inferiority keep me from serving God and living life fully? When I accomplish something, do I give God thanks for giving me the ability and strength to do it? Am I proud of my accomplishments, my talents and my family in a way that sets me up as “better than” others?  Do I fail to see others as better than myself?  Do I insist on my own rights without considering the rights of other persons involved in the same situation? Do I think I am doing, “Just fine, thank you very much”? Do I rebel at God wanting to change me?

Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. Just as our bodies have many parts and each part has a special function, so it is with Christ’s body. We are many parts of one body, and we all belong to each other. (Romans 12:3-5 NLT)

Most of the time we estimate what we and others can or cannot do according to what we know and see.  In some instances God may ask us to do something and we may be fearful to do it because we know what goes on inside of us.  God called Gideon a “Mighty Warrior” even though he was threshing wheat in a winepress while hiding from the Midianites who were enemies of Israel.  Gideon never thought of himself as a “Mighty Warrior” and doubted He could achieve very much.

Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. When the angel of the Lord appeared to Gideon, he said, “The Lord is with you, mighty warrior.”  “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but if the Lord is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our ancestors told us about when they said, ‘Did not the Lord bring us up out of Egypt?’ But now the Lord has abandoned us and given us into the hand of Midian.”  The Lord turned to him and said, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand. Am I not sending you?”  (Judges 6:11b-14 NIV)

Gideon was doubtful but eventually submitted to God and was given the strength to defeat the enemies of Israel.  With God all things are possible.  As we journey in our relationship with God we will find that our strength comes from Him alone and we will accomplish more than we could ever have thought or dreamed about if we listen to Him and submit to His ways. Why not test Him and see if He will provide all that we need to abound in every good work?

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