I Need the Almighty

3/1/07

This morning I meditated on the reading for 2/29 in My Utmost for His Highest. Several points impacted me with their importance that I want to continue to remember. The whole message was very good but these stood out in bold relief.

1. “Do not deify common sense. When Jesus asks us what we want Him to do for us in regard to the incredible thing with which we are faced, remember that He does not work in common-sense ways, but in supernatural ways.”

This seems so obvious when it is stated but is often very difficult to apply in everyday life. It is so easy to blur the distinction between what advice, counsel or decisions are based on good training, maturity and a wealth of knowledge or are based on a true revelation of God's desire for us. There is certainly a place in our lives to implement common sense in making decisions and learning to live together with others. But when the stakes are high and I have an impossible problem to overcome, I need dependence and a connection with wisdom and guidance beyond my abilities or of those around me.

I believe when he says to not “deify” common sense, it means that I need to always keep my connection and dependence on God at a higher level of priority than using human common sense to solve all my difficulties.

2. “Watch how we limit the Lord by remembering what we have allowed Him to do for us in the past: I always failed there, and I always shall; consequently we do not ask for what we want. 'It is ridiculous to ask God to do this.' If it is an impossibility, it is the thing we have to ask. If it is not an impossible thing, it is not a real disturbance. God will do the absolutely impossible.”

I felt very convicted when I read these words. How many times my faith fails to expect much beyond what I have already experienced, hence my growth and maturity are stunted by my inability to believe God will do something radically greater than I have ever seen in the past. This set me up for the most important answer to this problem that I read further down the page.

3. “You have to come to the place where you believe Him to be Almighty.”

I realized that despite my intellectual assertions or professions, my heart is still far behind in really resting in the reality of an almighty, all-compassionate Father who never for a millisecond loses attention of my situation, needs or feelings. When my heart really believes the truth about God my whole life will suddenly respond very differently to every circumstance or threat.

4. “Faith is not in what Jesus says but in Himself; if we only look at what He says we shall never believe. When once we see Jesus, He does the impossible thing as naturally as breathing.”

I remembered how many times I was instructed over many years to put my faith in the Word of God. I do not believe the intentions were wrong by those promoting this teaching, but the time has come to wake up to the real core of where faith comes from and what it really is. As he emphasizes all through this devotional book, my focus must be directly on the person of God primarily; not to allow any other aspect of our relationship to be greater than that one thing.

When applied to human relationships this becomes very obvious. But we struggle so much to understand that it is crucial to having a healthy spiritual life (which is the essence of all life, really). If I desire to have a close relationship with my wife, would I put more importance on the words she says than on her as a person? Would I value her letters more than I value being with her and just enjoying her presence? And yet we too often treat God as if His Word, or our own experience, or our work “for Him” is of more value and importance than cultivating intimacy directly with Him through every means possible.

I want to make these insights an integral part of my own life. I want to experience a more dynamic faith in my Father who is Almighty and not limit His freedom to transform my life by my small expectations of what He wants to do based on past experience. I want to cherish the words He shares with me, but even more I want to experience a growing affection and closeness to Him as the only true and capable source of satisfaction and abundant life full of joy and rest.