Tuesday, April 12, 2016

Ours is Faith; God's To Do

Ours is faith; God is to do (Judges 6:15-16)
by Seth Asare Okyere
15 “Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”16 The Lord answered, “I will be with you, and you will strike down all the Midianites, leaving none alive.”
Background
Our inabilities, deficiencies, and insufficiencies often leads us to fear, worry, anxiety, panic, stress and depression. Not that we do not have God (we know better), but we focus too much on ourselves. Our mountains usually are our own impositions. Thus,
·       We look to self, and self has nothing to offer.
·       We look to our abilities and we realize we realize they are not enough.
·       We look to our strength, and we realize we are too weak.
·       We look to our knowledge and we realize we see too little.
·       We look to what tomorrow brings and we realize we can see only today
·       But when we look to Christ, worries vanish and faith arises.

Biblical examples
 Gideon—God can and will do it (Judges 6:15-16)
·       Initially, Gideon did not consider the Angel (suoernatural being) who talked with him. He focused on himself, strength, position and ethnic limitations—which all went against him.
·       Yet, the Lord’s response was I will be with you. It was not what Gideons was, but who God is and what He is willing to do through him.
·       Worry ends when faith in God begins. The challenge for us to assured (in both mind and heart) in the words: I will be with you, when we cannot feel it. .

Moses: God always provides (Exodus 4)
·       Moses like Gideon, was charged to lead a people, in this case enslaved Israel in Egypt. Yet, Moses response was to focus on the limitations of himself than the abilities of God.
·       Notice: he said I do not know how to speak (slow of speech), they will not believe me, what should I tell them.
·       The Lord’s response: I will be with you. Yet,
·       God does not rely on sweeping statements. He proves it. Aaron, the brother of Moses—a good speaker—had been chosen to address Moses’ limitation.
·       In fact, Moses did not have to tell what his limitation, the Lord already knew it and had made provision for it.
·       Notice closely, the appointment of Aaron was a demonstration of divine provision. God made the provision to fill a needed gap. The fear of Moses was already addressed.
·       It was just a matter of faith that God is and willing to meet our needs. Our limitations do not affect God’s abilities.
It is important to recognize that as Christians there may be struggles often, perplexities along our journey and difficult circumstances. Yet, ours is not to look at what we can do (the source of our worries) but to lean on the savior and what He can accomplish. The only thing God cannot do, is that which goes against His will.
The 19th Century Christian author, Ellen White, notes, ‘You may not understand the way in which God is leading you, you may not be filled with joy, but may be in heaviness because of temptation; but in all this it is your privilege to say, “I believe the Lord will give me the things I have asked for. I can and will trust God.” Do not fret and talk discouragement and grieve the Holy Spirit of God from you. You are to believe that Jesus knows just what you need, and will supply all your wants; so you can go on in faith, saying, “I have laid my burden upon the Lord, and I will not lay it upon any human being. God will hear and answer my prayers.” Satan may say, “You do not feel any better, you are just as miserable as ever.” But tell him you believe that God will do just as he has said, and rest your whole weight on his promise (Ellen White, Review and Herald, Feb. 27, 1913).
“If we would but fully believe this, all undue anxieties would be dismissed. Our lives would not be so filled with disappointment as now; for everything, whether great or small, would be left in the hands of God, who is not perplexed by the multiplicity of cares, or overwhelmed by their weight. We should then enjoy a rest of soul to which many have long been strangers (Ellen White, Steps to Christ, pp. 86).

Concluding remarks
·       To Gideon, it was said the ‘Lord is with you’
·       To Moses, it was said ‘I will be with you’
·       To us, it was written ‘Emmanuel’: God with us

·       And futuristically, it was declared behold: ‘I am with you till the end of the world’

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