Walk by faith, not by sight or…

Since having pneumonia, changing to a Mac instead of a PC (learning curve) and having challenges come at me one after the other, I’m realizing a helplessness that is important to Christian living but I’m not enjoying it very much. Being dependent on Christ alone is not as easy as the words to many of our hymns and songs claim it to be.

Today’s devotional says many Christians sing words like: “Thou, O Christ, art all I want, More than all in Thee I find” but the author doubts if we could honestly say those words express the reality in our experience. I get that. Recently being several times in situations of helplessness, I’ve felt like being in a foreign land where I don’t know the language, have no one to guide me, and the map isn’t making sense. Lost, no routine, not even a friendly face.

Yes, that is an exaggeration, and I do realize that this is part of the sanctification process. I do want to honestly say God is enough, but my experience has been pushing me in many directions. I would like a constant realization of His presence, a sense of His love, and consistent answers to my prayers. Even so, I’m not sure what ‘Christ alone’ looks or feels like. Maybe David didn’t either when he wrote these words;

For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken. (Psalm 62:1–2)

It might be easier to describe what this means by what it does not mean. I do trust Christ alone for my salvation. Helplessness adds to the truth that in ourselves, we are not able to be godly people, never mind set ourselves on the way to heaven or gain eternal life. This is a given.

However, to say that God is enough is not about having sound doctrines. While having them challenged does not make them unsound, it does wipe any cocky confidence out of my heart. I cannot rely on every jot and tittle in my beliefs when helplessness also mocks them. If I know it all, why then do I suffer as if I know nothing?

God is enough is not about good feelings either, no more than I can rely on ‘my feelings, or on any righteous works, or fervent prayers, or earnest striving’ as the devotional writer says, because waiting on God can seem like building on the sand. He cannot be second-guessed. That means “God is enough” is not being sure about much of anything else.

At the same time, in all that uncertainty, I cannot put my trust in God alone because all else fails and there is nowhere else to go. I need to trust Him alone just because God is God — whether I can hear Him speak, or see Him at work, or know for sure that He is answering my prayers.

PRAY: Lord, it is easiest to trust You when You speak and when I can see You in action. Yet when I cannot, You have not changed. You are who You are and faith means knowing You will do what You do whether I am in on it or not. Keep me close.

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies. (Psalm 18:1–3)

Faith in Jesus changes my life

The deep-seated emotions and thoughts of the heart cannot be hidden; eventually they come out in words and actions. This is true of negatives like anger and hate, jealousy and fear, but it is also true of joy and love. Since these are products of the Holy Spirit, it makes sense that when the Holy Spirit lives in someone, He will make Himself known, just as living by my own strength apart from His input will make itself known.

Paul wrote to the Christians at Rome: “You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.” (Romans 8:9)

That is, if anyone is a Christian, the Spirit of God dwells in that person. Otherwise, “Those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.”

He goes on to say that those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit . . . “For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God”. (Romans 8:3–8)

Tozer gives me a sharp reminder that the Holy Spirit lives in me and therefore will make Himself known. He cannot help but do that. I can grieve Him, even quench Him, but He cannot be pushed out. His forever home is with God’s people, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to pour the love of God into our hearts (Romans 5:5), a love that cannot help but be poured out into the lives of others (Galatians 5:22-23).

The Bible says I’m to trust the Lord with all my heart and not lean on my own understanding or be wise in my own eyes (Proverbs 3:5-7). Should I lean on myself, it comes out as pride and fleshy confidence, with love, peace, joy and all other spiritual fruit either gone or greatly diminished.

David wrote many songs. In this one, he demonstrates that he is trusting and filled with the Holy Spirit:

“I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” (Psalm 18:1–3)

Personally, I have few enemies, but the enemies of the Body of Christ and Christianity in general are many. How can I live so that animosity is either not hurting me, or so it is gone entirely? Since godly living invites persecution, living as David did could actually increase that negativity, but in the power of the Spirit joy can be present, even in dire situations. It depends entirely on what/who controls my life — the flesh or the Spirit of God.

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, trusting You makes external changes in my life as well as internal in my heart. I value integrity. Enable me to continually express on the outside what You have done and are doing in me. The needs can be humbling, but the power of God puts my mind on the needs of others, to love and serve them. You are an amazing God.