Saturday, April 13, 2013

Me or God?


I talked with a friend last night concerning this very subject.  When I am praying for guidance in making a decision or in making future plans, how do I know that what I come up with is from God – or is it just me?

            I know that I am very strong-willed – sounds better than saying I tend to be stubborn.  I also tend to think very logically – look at things logically.  And, I have a lot of influence over myself – that pesky strong-willed thing.  I tend to look for very logical answers to a decision or when making future plans.  Knowing this about myself, I tend to doubt whether my decisions are God’s will or my own will.  So, let’s go to the authority – the Bible – and see what we are told about this.  Particularly since, strangely enough after having just discussed this last night, the devotional I received this morning, compliments of Dr. Charles Stanley and the InTouch Organization, deals with this very subject.  Does God work in mysterious ways or what??

            We first look at the main scripture for this devotional, I Corinthians 1: 18-29.  This passage of scripture plainly tells us that relying on our own wisdom is foolishness.  In verse 18, regardless of the translation you are currently reading, we are plainly told that God will destroy the wisdom of the wise.  What does that mean to you?

            If my wisdom is destroyed, it no longer matters whether I had a low level of intelligence, an average level of intelligence or a genius level of intelligence.  It no longer matters what all I had stored in my trunk of experiences.  If my wisdom is destroyed, my manner of thinking, whether logical or otherwise, is irrelevant.  I will be like a newborn baby – totally dependent on my Father. 

            This is where Faith comes into play.  Hebrews 11:1 defines Faith as:  “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see.” (NLT)  So, if I am left with no wisdom, no more logical thinking and am as a newborn baby, then I had better have faith – otherwise I have absolutely NOTHING.

            Sounds ominous doesn’t it?  It is exactly at this point though, that God can start to work in our lives, leading us to sound decisions and plans – and blessing us along the way. 

            Given this revelation, perhaps my prayers should be simply for the faith to await His guidance in decisions and plans instead of praying for an answer.

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