God Is Willing But Are WE
1 Peter 4:11 Amplified Bible (AMP)
11Whoever speaks, [let him do it as one who utters] oracles of God; whoever renders service, [let him do it] as with the strength which God furnishes abundantly, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ (the Messiah). To Him be the glory and dominion forever and ever (through endless ages). Amen (so be it).
This weekend I watched as the world mourned a star, an icon by man’s definition. I watched as people spoke of her, grace, benevolence, her humor, and her talent. But the one thing that struck me in the moments this weekend was no matter how much they spoke of Whitney Houston, it all came back to God and her reaching for Him, even in the midst of the crazy that was her life. Many of us will never see the success that she has obtained and some of us will in other areas, but none of it means anything if we do not stay focused and in the Will of God. We can have a sense of God, we can reach for Him, we can look to Him, but when we are still seeking to be affirmed, confirmed, and approved by man we can lose our way and lose our lives. It is only when we are hide in Christ, that is when our life means more because our life points to God and that we have obtained honor in the sight God and His Kingdom. The Bible says in Mark 8:36, “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life [[a]in the eternal kingdom of God]?” We can have it all in the sight of man and have NOTHING in the sight of God!
Matthew 6:1 says, “TAKE CARE not to do your good deeds publicly or before men, in order to be seen by them; otherwise you will have no reward [[a]reserved for and awaiting you] with and from your Father Who is in heaven.” When we do what is right and what is good, but we are doing it to receive affirmation from man or to be seen by man and thought of well by man we have taken the reward of God off of those acts. We also place ourselves in a position to become distracted by the thoughts, reactions and behaviors of those same people that we seek verification from. God is more than willing to bless us, to bring us before great men and women. God will raise us up and make our name great, all He desires it that the glory be His, that the honor that results out of our life belongs to Christ. He wants our submission to His Word and His Will. You see some of us will receive a moderate level of success, because God knows that we will get caught up in the hype of what we obtain and the people that will flock to us as a result of receiving a higher level of success. But some of us will reach positions that eyes have not seen nor ears have heard what God has prepared for us, because we are willing to totally decrease and allow God to increase. We understand the importance of God getting the glory out of our lives and all that we do, say and even in the way we live and treat others.
Yes God is willing. He said He wishes above all things that we be in health and prosper as our soul prospers (III John 1:2), but the prospering of our soul will be identified by who gets the credit for what happens in our lives. Our soul being healthy and prosperous can be seen by who we seek to be affirmed by and to be seen by. When we are in a place that says we are prosperous in spirit and soul will be when we don’t have to be seen when we do something; we will be seeking God instead of man. God is willing to prosper us and raise us up, the question is are we willing to hide behind the Savior and allow Him to be center stage for all that we have, all that we do and achieve?
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