“…being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;…” Philippians 1:6, nkjv
A dear friend of mine who works in finance is the most positive person I know. Even though the Stock Market has been on a roller coaster for the past year, whenever I check in with him, he always answers, “It’s been turbulent. There will be a few more bumps ahead, but I am confident we are going to be okay.” I have jokingly said that if he had been on the Titanic, he would have been saying almost the exact same words.
For a Christian, those words—We’re going to be okay—are completely true. God has promised that when we are in the middle of every anxiety and everything that seems impossible, that with thankfulness, we can come to Him, and He will work out every detail for our good…. (See Romans 8:28.)
Trusting God to do that though can sometimes feel like an impossibility in itself. Like Eve in the Garden of Eden, I find myself face-to-face with the hideous sins of pride and wanting to be equal with God. (See Genesis 3:1-7.) Deep down, I must believe that I can fix what is wrong, or that I can do whatever it is that has to be done, better than God. For I have found that even when I pray with all my might, Lord, I give this to You, I open my eyes to find I am still holding on. It’s as if I just can’t let go.
Being human seems to get in the way.
The Apostle, Paul, writes in Romans 7:15, esv:
“For I do not understand my own actions.
For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.”
Paul does not stop there but gives us the hope of Jesus.
“Who will deliver me from this body of death?
Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!”
Romans 7:24-25, esv
Jesus tells us, “…Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28, nlt. Jesus means every single burden, even the one of not being able to let go. We just need to confess that we are powerless to do that. When we do, He gently unclenches our fingers from what we are holding onto and takes it from our hands.
Jesus wants to bring us to the place where we realize and understand that we are hopeless and helpless without Him.
When that starts to sink in, we begin to let Jesus work His gentleness and humility of heart into ours. The freedom Jesus speaks of when He says, “You will know the truth and the truth will set you free,” John 8:32, tlv, will be where we learn to live. To really live!
Heavenly Father, please do that in all of us. Please forgive us for trying to do anything in our own strength. We end up exhausted and miss so much of Your joy when we do. Please keep our eyes on You. Thank You, Lord, that we are confident in You, because of You. We love You.
In Jesus name,
Amen
Kimberly
Dear Sister, you have read my mail. In fact, you have just described the very essence of sin…… the desire to be independent of God. Our will is exactly opposite of our Lord’s. I join you in confessing that I am guilty of this sin. But we can rejoice in knowing that having confessed, He has forgiven us and comforted us with His Word found in John 8:36. “He whom the Lord sets free, is free indeed. Love, Carlene