We humans are control freaks. The Secular Humanist mindset is to do what we want, where we want, with whom we want. While this blends with the modern world’s worship of man, his “self-esteem” and self-direction…this approach to life is clearly anti-Biblical.
I woke up today with two old church songs blasting in my head; “Let go and let God have his wonderful way” and “Have Thine own way Lord”. From there the following thoughts came flowing before I could get out of bed…so I share them with you now.
“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death” (Proverbs 14:12).
“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business, and make a profit.” You do not even know what will happen tomorrow! What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.…”(James 4:13-14).
Part of the secular humanist mindset is “helping ourselves”. If you start feeling pain or have an emergency, what’s the first thing you do? Call a doctor? Take a pill? Or do you go to prayer? Do we still believe in a miraculous God, or was that in some other dispensation of church history?
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. (Proverbs 3:6)
The believer’s mindset should always be checking your spirit first before making any decisions. What is God trying to say or do in any situation? Prayer is as much listening as it is talking to God. Many times we just need to get out of the way with our own solutions or requests. Let go and let God. Don’t worry, fret or fear. We never need to panic. God is always on His way. Sure, he allows us to help sometimes, but even when we are part of the solution it is still about God the enabler and His timing.
I continue to be challenged by the story of Job. Here was one of God’s most obedient and blessed servants of that time. Per God’s sovereign will, Satan was allowed to take everything away from this blessed man…his family, his possessions, his health, and even most of his friends apart from three terrible confidants who kept trying to tell him he must have sinned or been a bad man for “God to do all of this to him”. Most of the book of Job is about his suffering while waiting on God for an answer to his devastation and suffering. While Job “lamented the day he was born” at his lowest point, by the end of his longsuffering and testing, he had never denied the sovereignty of God and His will. Instead, his response in Job 23:10-16 was:
My foot has held fast to his steps; I have kept his way and have not turned aside.
I have not departed from the commandment of his lips; I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my portion of food.
But he is unchangeable, and who can turn him back? What he desires, that he does.
For he will complete what he appoints for me, and many such things are in his mind.
Therefore I am terrified at his presence; when I consider, I am in dread of him.
God has made my heart faint; the Almighty has terrified me; yet I am not silenced because of the darkness, nor because thick darkness covers my face.
The wonderful ending to this story was when God was finished teaching Job to understand more deeply the meaning of all he had been put through, “…the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before. Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold. And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. (Job 42:10-12)
So we see here the cause and effect of God’s cycle of testing and blessing. After Job had defended himself and his faith to God and his accusatory friends, he prayed for them and forgave them for their judgment and lack of understanding of God’s ways. Only at that point did God restore to him twice that which he had lost and “the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning”.
One of my favorite life sayings has been “it’s not about how you start but how you finish that determines success”. I believe that is a spiritual principle as well. Many people start a competition with great zeal and energy, but at the first sign of tiredness or things not going their way, they crumble into a ball of fatigue and accept failure…usually blaming others or even God for their failures and lack of victory.
God tells us to run the race of life with all our might and commitment, but He has never left us to run on our own power or understanding. He has promised to be with us each step of the way in this life…and for the eternity to come. The definition of “success” is God’s, not ours, to make.
“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him”. (1 Corinthians 2:9)
If we love God and by faith trust His love for us as demonstrated throughout history, we don’t have to fret or fear the things we do not understand. Even in those times of darkness, lack of feeling any love nor seeing what we have hoped for…we can count on God to be working on our behalf and fulfilling the plan HE has for our lives. We will not see or experience this if we are full of ourselves and our own wills…but if we live repentant, humble lives before Him, in due time he will lift us up and fulfill that which He has promised us.
Even God’s favorite, King David, asked “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? How long Lord will you let your children suffer or the righteous be forsaken? (Psalm 13:1-2)
Sometimes it is for as long as we keep doing things “our way”. Most of our suffering is in our own hands and will. Results of bad decisions or sin. Sometimes the purpose of our suffering is just God setting up his glory in our weakness and refining us to his definition of perfection.
He is in control at all times in all things. Even in our disobedience, he is at work in us. He wants us to submit to his will and “let go” of our own controls. Wait and see what God will do. As the old gospel song states, “It is no secret what God can do. What’s he’s done for others he’ll do for you”.
I believe in the principle of prayer and supplication. He wants us to let him know our needs even though he already knows them. Like any good parent, he knows what we need, but he does oftentimes want our participation in finding answers… under HIS direction. We need to submit to His parenting as our father. Sometimes he will do things FOR you and other times make you part of the solution. He can always GIVE us bread, but sometimes he will make us work for it in order to learn what it takes to succeed or teach us discipline. There is a time to wait and a time to do. Life is not about God doing for US, but what we do for him because of what He has already done for us.
Submit to God’s will instead of your way. Ask him about your lifestyle, what you should eat or drink, whether you should travel or not, who you should hang out with. Do you think you need a new house or car? Submit to Him in ALL of your ways.
Our prayer should be like the other old song that was on my mind this morning.
You are the potter, I am the clay
Mold me and make me after your will
While I am waiting yielded and still”