Good morning,
There is nothing like a good scare to get us back on track with God. A careful study of the patterns that God showed us in both the Old Testament and the New Testament makes it quite plain that when God’s people are left with little pain and a lot of tradition they are easy prey for the enemies lies and the false confidence of being right with God. The Lord has made it quite plain that it’s impossible for us to please God without a robust faith in the God who always keeps doing things his way according to his unchangeable plan. When one generation after another keeps building their lives on someone else’s faith, it doesn’t take long for what used to be pleasing to God to become a rebellion against God. When leaders say things like, “We have always done things this way,” tradition takes the place of faith and the fear factor is based on staying in control of our lives and religious patterns instead of following our Good Shepherd as he leads us through different cultures and time changes. God never changes, but time always changes how we deal with the new set of challenging circumstances that he has planned to teach us how to genuinely trust our Lord and carry out his plan for our generation.
So when God shakes up our lives with pain and fear, does he want us to try harder or come up with new ways of getting back to our comfortable faith? In America and much of the Western World we have turned to business and successful people to help us get back on track with the security and control that does quite well without forcing us to “take the chances” that following God requires. I have been amazed by the number of leaders I have worked with who turn to a new book or a new program to revitalize their faltering programs. God doesn’t want us to turn to one another, he wants us to come to him in repentance and dependence on him to take us into the new and costly ways of living out his plan for our lives. If our cultures clash and crash, the Lord will still keep on building his Church. If we feel resentment toward the unwelcome changes in our lives, aren’t we really demanding that God treat us better than what his plans call for? Is life on this sinful earth a time of battle or a time of safety and success? Dear Lord, please help us to live lives of daily dependence on your plan in the face of our fears. Dear Lord, please help us to know and do your will, your way and for your glory.
Romans 11:34 For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? 35 And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back?
Roy Wisner
