Spiritual Transformation, NOT Behavior ManipulationSample
Can I Trust God with My Life?
We realize we can’t trust Satan, but how do we know we can trust God? How do we know He has our best interest at heart? A major reason for distrusting God is my tendency to impute to God MY character. If God is like me, then it would be quite logical to distrust Him!
Although I have been accustomed to trusting in myself, I now should be forming the habit of trusting God in my daily decisions. That comes as I get to know Him better through His Word, Prayer, and Community with other believers.
1 John 4:16 says We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.
I have learned that I can’t always trust human love and romance, so how is God’s love different?
What if we defined love as “doing what is in someone’s best interest?” What if God can only do what is best for me? This may not necessarily be what I THINK would be in my best interest ….like winning a million dollars in the lottery!
Consider this analogy of a parent with a 3 year old child. Five minutes before dinner the child wants candy. The parent, knowing the child will not want to eat their vegetables and drink their milk, may say “no.” The child screams and wails, believing the parent doesn’t love them! Or the child wants to run into the street to chase a puppy, and the parent stops them– because the PARENT KNOWS THINGS THE CHILD DOESN’T KNOW.
Do we really believe that God knows things we don’t know? And can see the bigger picture of our lives that we may not yet see? And has a plan for us that is far better than we can fathom?
Scriptures tell us He is faithful and totally trustworthy and dependable. He also can do no wrong, and loves us more than we can begin to fathom. On top of that, He created our world, knows everything and has control over all things (sovereign).
The result should be to trust God in my decision-making process. As I have experienced trusting Him, the logical next step is to ask Him to totally manage my life, making Him Lord, not just Savior. He knows things I don’t know. He can envision my life unraveled from all the craziness, so that I have abundant life that is so much better than I thought I would ever have!
What keeps me from making the Lordship decision? The enemy wants me to be afraid that God will take advantage of me.
- What will He ask me to do that I can’t do, or don’t want to do?
- What will He keep me from doing that I want to do?
- What will He take away that is important to me?
- Will God fail me if I trust Him with “this”?
But is God like other people who take advantage of me? Read and meditate on the verses in the scripture reading on the character of God. What is God telling me about Himself?
Then consider, if God loves me completely, unselfishly, and extravagantly and can only do what’s in my best interest, what LOGICAL reason do I have for not giving Him control / management of my life?
Prayer: God, I don’t know what You have planned for my life, and to be honest, I have some fears. But I open my heart and life totally to you, because I know that You love me and can only do what’s in my best interest. I will need your help to keep me willing to trust you. However, I affirm that YOU are my Lord, as well as my Savior, and I surrender all to You.
About this Plan
Is God only concerned that I “behave correctly?” Am I “white knuckling” my Christian walk – trying hard to “be good?” That’s manipulating my behavior! God has a better plan than doing it the hard way, on my own. He wants to inwardly transform and grow me. In this devotional we will explore how God’s transforming power enables us to live the abundant Christian life.
More