Yesterday I talked about the fact that we often fail to follow God’s leadership because we become so accustomed to God’s word that we fail to see it as relevant and alive – we skim right over what it means for us now. Today I am thinking about another reason we fail to follow God’s leadership. Often times we know what God would have us do but we are unwilling.
Ever been there? Have you ever been faced with the realization that you needed to do something different to be more effective or maybe to be closer to God but you were not willing because it meant giving something up or changing something you like to do? I have to confess that I know in my head that I need to spend more quality time with God – setting aside time to read and pray. But on a very practical level, that would mean going to be earlier so that I could get up earlier. I would have to change my lifestyle to make that happen more regularly. So what do I do? I try to get up earlier without going to bed earlier, telling myself that if I was a committed Christian I could do it. But what happens is that after a few days of that, I am back into the routine of sleeping later and cramming my time with God into a more convenient crevice of my day.
The book of Judges deals with this idea. You can read an example here. So many times we do not follow God’s plan for us because we are unwilling to change.
So here is my question for you today: “What are you doing that you know you need to change to become closer to God and the plan that God has for you?”
The beauty of God’s love is that God’s invitation is always open. One of the themes throughout the book of Judges is God’s pursuit of us. God is always open and ready for us. The question is are you willing to change?
Clay in the Hands 
Romans 7:15 states: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.
This isn’t a new problem – and hopefully I haven’t taken the passage out of context for your thought – but I think it applies to alot of things. If you read the verses that surrond this passage, you will notice that Paul uses the word “I” extensively.
My question back at you is this – What if we take “I” out of the equation and see what Jesus can do. “I” am usually the problem in any equation and “I” depend on “me” way to much. Just a thought – let me know what you think.
Dave, great thoughts. I agree with you. Apart from Christ, “I” can do nothing. So I agree, we should step back and see what Jesus can do. But to push back just a bit, God expects us to do our part. We can sit in a sailboat all day long with a perfect wind blowing but if we don’t raise the sail, we aren’t going to get anywhere. God provides the wind, but we have to do our part.
Thanks so much for your thoughts – at the end of the day, it is Jesus that makes the difference, not “me.”
I agree 100% – I just forget to give the proper credit for the sailboat and perfect wind. I usually think that I provided the sailboat and the wind is coincidence and I can get it across the lake and then wonder why I’m not moving anywhere. Your previous post is stuck in my mind – why not me – why not now – I’m the only one who can raise the sail and the sooner I do it, the quicker the results will be realized.
Why is it so hard for us to realize it is not about “me”?