Swing for the Fences!

Ya know, we really need to be careful with the little clichés we often quote; and what we mean when we quote them.
In particular, I’m thinking of the ever-familiar; Let go and let God. What does ‘Let go and let God’ mean to you? I bet you can get as many different answers as the number of people you ask. Nothing wrong with different perspectives, we just need to make sure we keep a Biblical view.

Here’s the Word:

1 Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

Psalm 27:14 Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Psalm 46:10(a) Be still, and know that I am God:

Ephesians 6:13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

These few verses are what you’re likely to hear if you asked that question. Now it’s obvious that each verse cited does lend itself to ‘trusting’ God. But my concern is this: Are we saying that ‘letting go and letting God’ mean that you really don’t have to do anything, just wait on the deliverance?

I sure hope not. That’s not what those verses are saying: Peter is talking about humble submission and trusting that The Lord lifts you up in His time. Not an inactive waiting. Psalm 27 is about continuing in doing right regardless of obstacles, the obstacles are temporary. It's not about standing still. Psalm 46 is about the awesomeness of God and His Sovereign rule over the earth and His help for His people. Spend time and investigate - Study Scripture.

You see what I’m getting at right? I know it can be confusing.
When we have difficulties, we really are taken aback and we wonder what to do. The confusion can be compounded because one aspect of the fruit of The Spirit is patience, but patience in trusting God is very different from the idea that I should just sit on the sidelines and do nothing but “Wait on God”. We are called to, rather created in Christ to do good works, we’re called to obedience, and we’re called to engage the culture and simply use the good sense God gave us all. Christianity is an action verb. And when we’re faced with life’s difficulties, we need to pray earnestly for direction, but we can’t assume inactivity as an answer. It’s incumbent upon us to do the natural and allow God to handle the supernatural.

What determines if a baseball player hits a home run? If they could always do it, I’m sure that they always would. They don’t “not” swing, only waiting for homerun hits.

Ecclesiastes 9:11 I have seen something else under the sun: The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong, nor does food come to the wise or wealth to the brilliant or favor to the learned; but time and chance happen to them all.

So yes, let go of trying to do God's part and let God do only what He can. But you make sure you DO your part. Be ready. And whether you get a base hit or even strike out, when it’s your turn up to bat – Swing for the fences!


In Him,
Cros

Going Without

God is not food.

Kind’ve a bizarre statement I know, but bear me for a bit.
I, like many of you, grew up in a situation where most of what I take for granted today was not readily available. And without getting into the details, I remember occasions where food was not available. So we just went without.There was enough love and laughter to make those time of no lasting consequence. But the point is, God is not food, and if you wanted to dismiss God and still eat, it wouldn’t be a difficult thing at all. You can eat without God.

God is not money. Most people on the planet live on meager means and although the media forces us into window-shopping experiences, most of us can’t always buy what we want. So we go without. But the point is, God is not money and if you want to dismiss God and still spend money, it wouldn’t be a difficult thing at all. You can spend money without God.

Your friends are not God. And I know many of us have some pretty good friends who’ve stuck it out with us through thick and thin. Lord knows I appreciate my friends and I wish I did more to show them just how much. And as sad as it would be; If all of my friends were somehow removed from my life, I’d be devastated. But I’d go without. The point is, your friends are not God, and if you want to dismiss God and still have friends, it wouldn’t be a difficult thing at all. You can have friends without God.

God is not a whole lot of things. Things that we like, things that make us comfortable, even things that we often rely heavily on. We thank God for blessing us with things like food, money, friends and a myriad of other things but we ought to never be confused that if all of those things were removed, we’d simply go without. There’s a lot of stuff we can do without God.


Here’s the Word:

1 John 4:8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them.

Now it could be that I’m just being overly sensitive and should probably take a break from the nightly news. But I’m saddened by the mess people are getting themselves into. Especially what people in relationships are doing to each other; husbands and wives; parents and those dear children. When I think of it, it seems that we’ve bought into the fallacy that human effort can produce love. It can’t. God is love. If you look at a logical deduction of 1 John 4:8 you could also say “You can’t love without God.” It’s such an awesome thing that God made us with a capacity to love. But love is not something that we can grow in a garden, or buy from a store or borrow from friends. You cannot dismiss God and still love. Simply put, Love always involves God and it’s not something that we can go without.


In Him,
Cros