You may think that the situation is hopeless, but God gives us more grace when we turn away from our own interests. That’s why Scripture says, God opposes the proud, but He pours out grace on the humble. So submit yourselves to the one true God and fight against the devil and his schemes. If you do, he will run away in failure. Come close to the one true God, and He will draw close to you. James 4:6-8 The Voice Translation
When my husband was in plumbing school, he had to learn DFU’s (drainage fixture units), for weeks, every morning and evening we would go over this chart. It got to the point where I knew them as well as he did and needless to say his efforts paid off and he aced the test. Here’s the thing, with his profession as a Master Plumber and Contractor he still knows the DFU’s. I on the other hand have long lost the memory of that chart, after all it doesn’t serve much purpose to a pastor, well at least until now. He uses this information often and it helps him plan jobs and stay within the plumbing code. This in turn provides safety and sanitation to the user for years to come. But if he wouldn’t use or follow them, people could find themselves with a mess, getting hurt or even sick. Our knowledge and use of God’s Word is much the same.
There are times in our lives when we read the Word and even memorize it. We believe that when we follow in the wisdom we acquired it will help us keep us safe and stay out of trouble or help us get through it better. But then life happens, things change, we don’t have time anymore to spend time in His Word or with Him. We find ourselves in a comfortable place where we’re exiting on what we think we had learned. Then unforeseen circumstances throws us into a crisis and all of a sudden we realize we don’t remember as much as we thought we had. Our memories are now clouded to the lessons we had learned.
Because we didn’t take the time to be in the presence of God and His Word, we now find ourselves feeling hopeless and far from God. Our independence and pride has clouded over our need of God and His ways. But it can be in this place that God reminds us that He is still there, waiting to extend to us the grace we need to find our way through the circumstances. When we will admit our lackadaisical attitude toward the things of God and turn back to His wisdom and leading He will be there for us to help us. When we get back into His Word and His presence He will make a way where there seems to be no way. We will be able to say like David in Psalm 23:3 “He restores my soul” and we once again know the restored joy of our salvation (Pslam 51:12).
Today ask yourself: When was the last time I truly meditated on the Scriptures? Am I relying too much on my past relationship with God to get me through? Have I become complacent in maintaining the life lessons God has taught me? Am I open to God’s leading and following his guidelines for life to keep me safe? Have I left my guard down and let the enemy take full advantage of my vulnerability?
Remember: God wants you to experience an abundant life, not just to get by.
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