God's Wisdom In A Nutshell

Hello!

If you are a self reliant person and pride yourself in setting goals and working hard to achieve them -great -you are halfway there!  Why do I say halfway?  Because working hard is an awesome quality! But did you know that God wants to be part of our plans and goals too?

Although self reliance and hard work seem like good attributes at first glance, God prefers us to live in a dependent relationship with Him so that we focus our attention and energy on what He deems important. By bringing our plans and desires to Him, we can ask Him to bless them if they are based on His will for our lives, or remove our desire for them, if they are not His will. This shows dependent humility on our Father in heaven.

The definition of pride is a satisfaction with ones own achievements. In contrast to that, humility is a modest view of one’s own importance.  Guess which one our Creator prefers?

“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”(James 4:6 NIV)

“For those who exhault themselves will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Matt 23:12NLT)

 God is the source of all our talent as well as all the good in our lives. When we use our time, talent and effort without consulting our omniscient Creator we will end up down a dead end road, running ourselves ragged and sometimes gaining problems in return for our efforts. Consult with God, He has a plan for you.

 “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” (Jer 29:11 ESV)

If God allowed only those who are connected, wealthy or brilliant to be the only success stories, most of us would feel as if we have no hope to make a real impact on this world. But this is not true! God’s power is made perfect in weakness. I wonder how many struggling people God wanted to bless by pulling out a hidden talent; yet it remained hidden because they didn’t go to Him for help in their time of need.

“I’ll give you concealed treasures and riches hidden in secret places, so that you’ll know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who calls you by name.” (Isaiah 45:3 ISV)

“For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, “Fear not, I am the one who helps you.”(Isaiah 41:13 ESV)

Bring God into your plans, better yet ask Him for the direction you should take your life – then listen for His answer. By doing this you will ensure that your effort will be successful and it won’t be unnecessarily burdensome.

Then, when people see how God has helped you through your struggles, they too will learn that God is a very practical God who leads His people to a peaceful and successful path in life.

We can do so much more than our human intellect allows when we combine forces with our Creator. Not only that, we will be an example of what God can accomplish through those who are humble and dependent on  Him.

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”(Matt 6:33 ESV)

Have a wonderful week,

Lisa