Press in Without Striving
Between wanting something to happen and making it happen is the narrow road of faith.
Matthew 7:7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10“Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow Way
13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
To press in without striving is the narrow place of trusting in the goodness of God. The narrow way is prayer.
You can tell you are, or aren't, in this place of faith by what is happening in your thoughts and emotions. Don't be lazy with your emotions. Impatience, fear, loneliness, feeling passed by, misunderstood, bitterness... While trying to fulfill God's purpose in your life are all indications that you are striving and not cooperating with God.
A right view of God should always point to the power that He has, AND the dignity He has given to what I want. My voicing want to Him IS what opens the door for Him to give it.
If I am willing to talk to Him about what I want and cooperate with Him as He gives it, or changes my view of how desirable "it" is, I will know Him better as He gives me more of what I was made for.
If I just want and strive to obtain, what I end up doing is damaging myself and those around me, even though I think my "wants" are Godly. Do unto others as they would do to you is in the middle of the Mat 7 passage. Striving is harmful to those around you, even though it masquerades as faith in our prideful hearts.
James 4:1Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who is in us yearns jealously”? 6But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud But gives grace to the humble.”
God is harvesting faith from the earth, not works. The faith will produce works, but he could produce them without me. What He wants is partnership with people that have His heart... His mind, will, and emotions.
I want to be careful to not try to win the world and forfiet my soul. I also want to be careful to not slip in to passiveness where I end up not wanting what God wants to give me and falsely calling that humility. That isn't humility. It's arrogance to not recognize God made me to give to me forever.
Faith is vulnerable. But God isn't a hard man. He wants me to learn how to embrace the inheritance of man... To learn how to be a child of God.
Romans 8:21because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
All creation is groaning for this striving in God's people to stop and the praying night and day to begin. This is the answer for Israel and the Church to the practical need rising up all around us. The need will become more acute, the grace prophesied to come will come, and the hearts of God's people will be softened to simply ask and receive. In some, He will find faith.
Luke 18:7“And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8“I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
What are you being tempted to impatiently strive for, in His name, today? Satan is trying to steal what God wants to give you. Satan does that by getting us to doubt God's willingness or ability. This causes impatience, then rebellion to rise up in man's heart. It's how satan broke the world through Adam and Eve. It's how he keeps a stolen kingdom.
Getting out of this striving and impatient mindset is what hands the earth back to God. That is why Jesus said "follow me." This is how Jesus lives.
Matthew 7:7“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 8“For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9“Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10“Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? 11“If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him! 12“Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.
The Narrow Way
13“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14“Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.
To press in without striving is the narrow place of trusting in the goodness of God. The narrow way is prayer.
You can tell you are, or aren't, in this place of faith by what is happening in your thoughts and emotions. Don't be lazy with your emotions. Impatience, fear, loneliness, feeling passed by, misunderstood, bitterness... While trying to fulfill God's purpose in your life are all indications that you are striving and not cooperating with God.
A right view of God should always point to the power that He has, AND the dignity He has given to what I want. My voicing want to Him IS what opens the door for Him to give it.
If I am willing to talk to Him about what I want and cooperate with Him as He gives it, or changes my view of how desirable "it" is, I will know Him better as He gives me more of what I was made for.
If I just want and strive to obtain, what I end up doing is damaging myself and those around me, even though I think my "wants" are Godly. Do unto others as they would do to you is in the middle of the Mat 7 passage. Striving is harmful to those around you, even though it masquerades as faith in our prideful hearts.
James 4:1Where do wars and fights come from among you? Do they not come from your desires for pleasure that war in your members? 2You lust and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. Yet you do not have because you do not ask. 3You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. 4Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. 5Or do you think that the Scripture says in vain, “The Spirit who is in us yearns jealously”? 6But He gives more grace. Therefore He says:
“God resists the proud But gives grace to the humble.”
God is harvesting faith from the earth, not works. The faith will produce works, but he could produce them without me. What He wants is partnership with people that have His heart... His mind, will, and emotions.
I want to be careful to not try to win the world and forfiet my soul. I also want to be careful to not slip in to passiveness where I end up not wanting what God wants to give me and falsely calling that humility. That isn't humility. It's arrogance to not recognize God made me to give to me forever.
Faith is vulnerable. But God isn't a hard man. He wants me to learn how to embrace the inheritance of man... To learn how to be a child of God.
Romans 8:21because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. 22For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.
All creation is groaning for this striving in God's people to stop and the praying night and day to begin. This is the answer for Israel and the Church to the practical need rising up all around us. The need will become more acute, the grace prophesied to come will come, and the hearts of God's people will be softened to simply ask and receive. In some, He will find faith.
Luke 18:7“And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? 8“I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?”
What are you being tempted to impatiently strive for, in His name, today? Satan is trying to steal what God wants to give you. Satan does that by getting us to doubt God's willingness or ability. This causes impatience, then rebellion to rise up in man's heart. It's how satan broke the world through Adam and Eve. It's how he keeps a stolen kingdom.
Getting out of this striving and impatient mindset is what hands the earth back to God. That is why Jesus said "follow me." This is how Jesus lives.
Comments
Post a Comment
I appreciate your comments.