Not My Ways

So I was sitting here, thinking about what to blog and I had this thought: What do I want to write about?” I had to stop and say, “Wait, who gives a crap what I want to write about? I don’t! Papa, what do you want to write about through my fingers? And then He brought another thought into my head, “Do I always do this?” When I am praying, or praising Him, or trying to figure out what to do next, do I always go with what I want to do and not think twice about it? Oh crap. How many times have I prayed and asked Papa to do something in my life that He didn’t have any intention of doing because He had better plans for me. Isaiah 55:8-9 came to mind. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the LORD. 9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth,  so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.” How long have I been limiting God by pressing my will upon Him? Crap.

Papa, I’m so sorry that I have thought I knew what I needed. I confess not trusting You and Your plan for my life. Papa, all I want and all I need in this life is You and Your will for my life. I love You and praise You for Your limitless power. You are the God who saves and heals. Save me and heal me oh God, only Your in Your infinite wisdom and power can do it. I love You.

Isaiah 40:28-31

Belief.

continuing onto my last post about belief.  Isaiah 40 is familiar to most, but when read correctly changes the meaning and adds quite a bit of significance.

28Do you not know? Have you not heard?
         The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
         Does not become weary or tired
         His understanding is inscrutable.

What a great pedigree He lays out in the beginning of this statement.  This is who I am, and I have never gotten weary or tired.  When you think you understand God, you don’t.  Unfathomable. 

29He gives strength to the weary,
         And to him who lacks might He increases power.

OK, some interesting stuff in this verse.  He gives His strength to the weary, and remember He had never gotten weary or tired.  Now the second part of that verse is also cool, that word might in Hebrew is also the same word for manhood.  To him who lacks manhood He increases power, and it is once again His power.

30Though youths grow weary and tired,
         And vigorous young men stumble badly,
    31Yet those who wait for the LORD
         Will gain new strength;
         They will mount up with wings like eagles,
         They will run and not get tired,
         They will walk and not become weary.

The reason youths grow weary and young men stumble badly, is because we don’t wait on the Lord.  Like my last post do what Jesus did, only do what Dad has told you to do, and then wait until He says something else and then do that immediately.  Gain a new strength huh?  What does that look like, and what does new mean?  The last two lines in that verse in Hebrew say they will run and not get tired EVER, they will walk and not become weary EVER.  Woah, what the heck.  So what does that mean when we get tired and weary?  Because He says we wont do that ever.  When we get tired and weary for any reason it is a good reminder of who we are and who God is.  It goes back to belief again.  What do I believe about His strength, and His power, and His manhood?  Can I go and not get tired or weary ever? He says I can.  Belief is the basis for everything.  If our beliefs about God and ourselves don’t change we will continue to run this race much slower than His speed and we will still get tired doing it.  It’s like running on a tread mill.  We are going 10 mph and wearing ourselves out and still staying in the same place.  Believe differently and get off the treadmill.

We need Truth

2 Chronicles 22 is worse than chapter 21.  If you thought that Jehoram did bad, you should read about his son Ahaziah.  The Bible says that he did evil and he only reigned one year.  I mean, seriously, many of these guys were far from saints.  Jehoram lead the people astray and reigned for eight years.  How bad was Ahaziah that God had him struck down after only 1?  And yes, if you read the chapter, God had him killed.  Now that’s good reading.

So, I asked the question yesterday, “can this happen to us?”  Can we be presented with truth and then just walk away from it?  The answer is yes it can, unless we keep ourselves in a relationship with Christ through the Holy Spirit.  You see, Jehoram was able to lead all of Judah astray.  I kept wondering how.  I woke up this morning with, what I believe to be, the answer.  Isn’t it odd how you can wake up sometimes with an answer that you weren’t even thinking about.  At that time the people were looking to their priests and their leaders to point the way.  They were not seking truth for themselves.  Similarly, they hed no one to guide them to all truth.  Jesus said in John 16:13 that He is sending the Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth.  In John 14 Jesus speaks about sending the Holy Spirit to help us remember all that He has taught.  He also states that Holy Spirirt will convict the world of sin.

I believe that an understanding and acceptance of the work of Holy Spirir in our lives keeps us grounded in our faith and pointed in the right direction.  Jehoram and Ahaziah were able to lead Judah astray because Holy Spirit wasn’t their guiding these people; the people were being guided by their leaders who were supposed to be folowing the Lord.

Again, can this happen to us?  Certainly.  We can choose to walk away from God.  But for us, it will be a choice made in defiance and open rebellion for we have the Spirit of Truth guiding and convisting us along the way.