God is the author and finisher of our
faith, if only we could absorb this truth and learn to “let go and let God”,
how sweet our fellowship with God would actually be. It wouldn’t hinge on sporadic
peaks of highs and lows, sadly of which I am king. If I would learn to let go
of my independence and depend on God’s provision in every area of my life; the
more I explore this thought the weightier I understand the bewitchment the evil
one has had on society. We have been hoodwinked by his plots of independence.
Take guard, repent and turn to Jesus and trust in His provision for He is
sovereign. God speaks and it happens! If God has it in His power to soften or
harden a heart, who then can resist His will? He is the author and the finisher
of our faith we must learn to abide in Him in every area of our lives. We must
shift gear from independence to dependence.
We have learnt so many bad habits
along life’s journey; most have been due to our lack of understanding and to
the exclusion of God in our daily activities. Shame on us! We feel that if we
pray before a meal giving him due benevolence that we must be accepted because
we have found it in our hearts to remember His provision, but in the same
breath we know that the food we eat is because we have worked for it and
therefore we deserve it. We do what we like with our money, it is ours and no
one will tell us what to do with it, independence personified!
When the Lord Jesus paved the way for
the gospel, one of the very first things the early church dealt with was the
spirit of independence; the true gospel was preached, people were saved by the
power of God’s Spirit; with the result of being persecuted by the enemy, who had
somehow understood the power of the gospel, unto the saving of souls. Those who
opposed the gospel proclamation tried their utmost to silence the preaching in
the name of Jesus. Today the laws against “hate speech” (the lack of tolerance
for other religions) looks to do the same. What followed was interesting; the
gospel backed by God went forth with power and people were saved, praise God!
The work of the cross had begun to make inroads into the lives of sinners as
their independent hearts were melted. I am pleasantly surprised with what
followed and here it is; “And when they had prayed, the
place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled
with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. Now
the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the
things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was
not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses
sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles'
feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need.” (Acts 4:31-35)
Trust and total dependency upon God is
imperative in our lives; we can excuse what we will to justify whatever we feel
is justifiable. I pray Father God make me more like my great Saviour every
moment of every day, how I long to be of use to you with the limited time I
have left here on earth, enough of independence is my cry! Help me decrease so
that Christ may increase! May the realization of independence be stripped from that
entire name, the name of our great Saviour, even Jesus Christ our Lord, your
great Son, Amen!
Signing off
Tyrone
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