March 11

“Too often we settle for much less than what God wants to do through us.  We read in Jeremiah 32:27, ‘I am the Lord, the God of all flesh.  Is anything too hard for Me?’ and we answer, ‘No, Lord.’  Yet when we face difficult situations we begin to qualify our belief in God and lower our expectations of what God will do.”  H. Blackaby, Experiencing God Day-by-Day, 3/11

Before God does anything “through” us He does something “in” us, and that, I believe, is where our problem lies.  Our resistance to letting God work IN us to make us into vessels for His use is why we end up having lower expectations of what God will do.  How do we resist?  When we don’t live up to our potential because of laziness or fear of failure or even fear of success; or when we don’t exercise the faith we’ve been given because of laziness or fear; or when we’re disobedient due to laziness or fear. As I think about these traits--laziness and fear--I feel this need to look behind them.  My laziness might be due to fear.  But why am I afraid?  Is it because deep within I know, without a doubt, that without God I am lost.  If I know I am lost without God, but refuse to depend on Him because it might require me to submit to Him totally, I am left with rebellion as the root of why I settle for less.  My rebellion is totally within my own power to lay down.  If I would just quit rebelling, God would come in like a man-made dam that has been broken and can no longer hold back the water.  The water will flow into the dry valley and bring life to all living things.

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom;...For waters shall break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert;”  Isaiah 35:1, 6b