I think we a Christians need to trust in God more. I didn’t understand what I needed to do to please God until recently. God wants us to just abide in Him through prayer, worship, and Bible reading. He will give us success in our lives if we devote ourselves to these things. It says multiple times in scripture that those who meditate on the law of the Lord will be prosperous. We cannot do this in our own strength or through our own courage. I want to get better at this through God’s favor and power. Laying down at the feet of the Lord is the only way we can start this. He wants us to do this, and will call you to do this at some point if you haven’t heard the call yet.
The point is, we think our “instinct” is what keeps us alive and running, alive and healthy. We think our good food choices in our own strength make us strong and our diet is the only thing that can change our weight. We think hard work brings success, and that we should minimize chances in our lives by trying to control the outcome of every aspect of our job. Yes, it’s true that the Bible says those who are lazy won’t see success and those who are diligent will have favor. But who brings the favor? And is constant prayer, worship, and scripture reading counted as lazy?
I have to work against the mindset that praying a lot is lazy, because in the Army, anything that wasn’t considered work was considered to be lazy. In Afghanistan, they held 2 church services at our base on Sunday, and if I went to both to devote myself to God instead of just one, I would hear from my commander, in a bad way.
And yet, when Israel was threatened by an attack from the Philistines after the Philistines returned the Ark, Samuel prayed. He just prayed! His prayer gave the Israelites success, not the Israelite military’s strength of arms. Yet the mindset of the agnostic military and agnostic industry is sometimes the same as the mindset of us Christians.
In the 1960’s there was a movement against Westerners, including missionaries, in the Congo. Hundreds and thousands of young men took up machetes against Westerners and many were killed. As the group of young men approached a local missionary station, the missionaries were holding a prayer vigil, for deliverance. The young men stopped outside the missionary station in the middle of the jungle, and from the inside the missionaries could hear their yelling. However, the young men did not attack. The young men yelled and waved their machetes all night, but they did not go into the station, and in the morning they departed. Some time later, some of these young men were caught by the government. It came up in interrogation: why didn’t they attack the missionary station? The young men who were captured told the authorities that it was because of the giants with wings and flaming swords who were guarding the station all night. They could not get by, and the giants would not let them through. This is a true story. God will deliver us through prayer, not by warhorses, chariots of war, or princes.
It was never my or anyone else’s hard work that brought success, it was the favor of the Lord. Always. It was never chance that brought us out of the mouth of the lion, it was always the sovereign hand of the Lord. In scripture, He both raised up Israel, then when Israel turned away from Him, He raised up their enemies to conquer them. I’m not saying if you have had a hard lot in life that it’s somehow your fault or the Lord is against you. I had a hard lot in life for a long, long time. I’ve been trampled on by people, both figuratively and literally. And not everything that takes place on the earth is the Lord’s will. Sin is not His will. Rebellion is not His will. But He allows rebellion because He’s given us free will.
Everything good that happens on Earth, anything that is true or right, is from Jesus. I cannot raise my hands to write this without Him allowing me to do it. I cannot put my hand to my mouth to eat without His power. Everyone owes their lives and their success to the Lord – it’s just that very few comparatively acknowledge Him and receive His strength forever. This is my call to us as Christians: let’s acknowledge the Lord’s hand in all our successes and let our own strength fall away. For salvation does not come by chariots or powerful men, from the hand of humans or from princes. My salvation comes from the Lord, for He is enthroned in the highest heavens! His reach covers the whole earth. His hand is mighty to save, and He will prosper us when we turn our face toward Him in prayer and supplication! Let’s pray.
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