Self-Effort
Self-effort is something I am far too prone to lean into.
I know this may sound silly, because pretty much everything requires self-effort, but what I mean is the tendency to RELY on self-effort, while NEGLECTING to lean into God’s lead & God’s help–& let me emphasize LEAD, here, because too often I come up with my own plans & then want God to bless them, rather than asking what HIS plan is & help in doing THAT.
In reading “Sit, Walk, Stand,” by Watchman Nee, I was reminded that Jesus is the Vine & we are the branches, as told to us in John 15:5… That we can do nothing apart from Him.
Take a Closer Look
Now, at first glance, this Truth that “apart from Him, we can do nothing” seems outlandishly false. I don’t ask for God’s help doing most everything I do, & yet, I still do it!
But, when we take a closer look at this, it becomes more & more clear that we actually don’t do ANYTHING without His help.
He made everything! (Psalm 104)
He created us, first of all, knitting us together in our mother’s womb. (Psalm 139:13)
He provided means to make our oxygen to breathe & lungs to breathe it. (Job 33:4; Acts 17:25; Psalm 104)
He knew all of our days before we had our first. (Psalm 139:16)
He prepared good works in advance for us to do. (Ephesians 2:10)
He offered salvation that we could never earn ourselves. (Romans 5:8-9)
He gives us a brain to calculate & decide. He gives us our creativity to design. We were made in His likeness (Genesis 1:27)
He gives us our abilities & strengths & gifts & even opportunities! (Hebrews 13:20-21; 2 Peter 1:3)
Every good & perfect gift we have in our lives is from Him. (James 1:17)
He is our EVERYTHING.
And the fact that we believe any differently, that our life is about us, by us, or for us… is really a red flag for the pride in our hearts.
Because, in reality, He IS the Vine & we ARE the branches… & apart from Him, we can do NOTHING. (John 15:5)
We were made by Him to live for Him, through relying on Him. (Isaiah 43:7; Romans 11:36)
Leaning into Him, in Living FOR His Plans
We often lean into things we feel we are good at, where we feel most comfortable or capable, sometimes ignoring God’s nudge toward things that intimidate us.
Take this website & blog for example… It is a dream I have had since the late 2000’s & yet, to me, it seemed impossible then because I had ZERO idea how to do it!
But God was preparing my heart to trust Him with the details as He led me here. He put the steps in place & as He pointed the way, I walked.
He doesn’t put something on our hearts & then leave us to it, hoping we somehow figure it out or muster up enough bravery to face it. HE PREPARES us. HE LEADS us. HE ENABLES us.
Are You Ever Afraid to Ask God for His Will?
I don’t know about you, but there have been seasons in my life where I was actually AFRAID to ask God for guidance because I was overwhelmed with the feeling that I wouldn’t be able to do it.
How silly! How very much that displays my lack of trust in our Good God!
He does not live to embarrass us & make us squirm, giving us tasks He very well knows we canNOT handle, only to chuckle as we try or worse, blame us if we fail.
HE does the work. HE provides the wisdom. HE does the leading. HE provides the strength.
WE obey. WE trust. That’s OUR job in it!
We Can Ask Him with Full Confidence… in HIM!
And that is why we can have COMPLETE confidence when we go to God for guidance & help!
Because we know that:
- He knows us better than we know ourselves.
- He sees all the pieces at play in any given moment, even the parts of life coming where we are completely unawares.
- He has perfect knowledge, perfect understanding, & perfect wisdom.
- He CARES deeply for you. He IS love. He is Good.
- He prepares the way for us & enables us where something may seem impossible.
In other words, where God leads, God provides.
The Example of Moses
Think of Moses. He wanted to help his people so badly after growing up with royalty while he watched his people be harshly treated. But when he handled things poorly, by reacting out of anger, bitterness, & hatred, he ran away. But God pursued his heart & called him to return & to lead his people to freedom, with God’s help.
Moses was of course nervous! He had killed a royal soldier. He had run away from home. His nationality was of the slaves, even though he grew up amongst the royals. Moses felt completely unworthy of such a huge task.
But, God knew that Moses but need to rely on GOD’s wisdom, guidance, strength, & power, NOT his own.
And not only did God give Moses the words to say to the Pharoah, He also provided the miracles Himself.
Moses’ job? Obey & trust GOD.
(Read the full story of Moses growing up with royalty & obeying God in following God’s lead to free the Israelites, with God’s help, in Exodus 1-14.)
Our Role Is Trust in & Obedience to God
That is our job in life: Obey & trust GOD.
But too often, we rely on SELF.
We either run life on auto-pilot, not taking much time to consider God’s will in any given moment….
Or, we see what He wants us to do & try to do it without His help or avoid it because we don’t see how to do it ourselves.
I run on auto-pilot A LOT… ESPECIALLY when God teaches me something, so I think, you know, “Thanks, God! I’ve got it from here!” oof
Or, I simply go through life living for comfort or fun, not really stopping to consider what God might want me to do differently, because I am too focused on protecting said comfort/fun in my life, not wanting those idols to be threatened.
Or, when I DO see that He wants me to do something differently, I don’t trust that it’s better than what I cling to, so I often choose to trust me over Him & His plan.
I wrestle against pride EVERY day in these ways.
God, forgive me!
And maybe I write about it too much, maybe I sound like a broken record, but it’s something of which I need to CONSTANTLY be reminding myself.
I NEED Him
I NEED to learn to bow to Him every morning for His day’s plan. I NEED to learn to bow down in every situation where I want to respond by gut reaction versus leaning into Him to love & work through me. I NEED to be willing to see that He is FAR better than my idols I cling to… that the chase for comfort & fun is always fleeting, but the peace & contentment that He nourishes within us are LASTING.
I NEED to OBEY & TRUST Him.
I NEED Him.
Who Is Master of Your Life?
What are you holding back from Him? Where do you determine you know better? Where do your self-efforts seem to shine their worst?
Repent. Confess them to God & ask for His forgiveness. Ask Him to give you an awareness of when you are making these self-effort-decisions & ask Him to help you remember to humbly lean into Him instead of yourself.
His mercies are new every morning—Praise God for that! (Lamentations 3:22-24)
But let us not keep holding Him at arm’s length, as a our life preserver on board “in case of emergency.”
He alone is GOD.
He is our Vine, we are the branches. (John 15:5)
We can do NOTHING apart from Him.
So, shine HOPE by determining to live with Him as your Source, your Guide, & your Strength… to obey & trust HIM.
Coming Next Week
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