(photo credit: tinysm.com)
"Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees! ... I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me!" (Psalm 119:5,8, New Living Translation)
There are two great risks involved for those who desire to follow Christ in obedience. The first is that we become over-confident in our own abilities and fail to live in total dependence on Him. The moment we think, "I've got this," we have positioned ourselves for a major failure.
The second risk is that we decide that obedience is so far out of reach that it is hopeless and we might as well give up. "It's impossible for ordinary people," we say, not realizing that this faux humility is just another kind of self-assured arrogance.
Listen to the desperation in the Psalmist's plea: "Oh, that my actions would consistently reflect your decrees!" He recognizes that he is helpless within himself. But, he also recognizes that he is not without help: "I will obey your decrees. Please don’t give up on me!"
The posture we need is that of determined dependence. We are called into partnership with God. He does His part and gives us the grace necessary to do our part. We cannot access one without the other.
Question: Which of those risks is more likely for you?
Leave me a comment below. I'd love to hear your perspective.
No comments:
Post a Comment