Are You Willing To Accept

Are You Willing To Accept


Do you trust Jehovah God? Do really believe that everything He commands or allows is ultimately and eternally right, just and good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (see Romans 8:28)?

Are you willing to accept –

What God has previously revealed?

Eli the Priest – After Samuel tells Eli what God had told him, Eli’s family is condemned to death because Eli had not dealt with the sins of his sons.

• 1 Samuel 3:17-18 And he said, “What is the word that the LORD spoke to you? Please do not hide it from me. God do so to you, and more also, if you hide anything from me of all the things that He said to you.” 18 Then Samuel told him everything, and hid nothing from him. And he said, “It is the LORD. Let Him do what seems good to Him.”
• Eli accepted the judgment and consequences that God had already revealed to him by another prophet (see 1 Samuel 2:30-33).

Mary the Mother of Jesus – After the angel Gabriel tells Mary that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, she will conceive and bring forth the Son of God, the promised deliverer of Israel.

• Luke 1:38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.
• Mary accepted the blessings, responsibilities and difficulties associated with the plan that God had already revealed to all of Israel by the prophet Isaiah (see Isaiah 7:14).

Paul the Apostle – After his third missionary journey as he travels back to Jerusalem where he will be arrested and tried, and eventually sent to Rome after appealing to Caesar.

• Acts 21:12-14 Now when we heard these things, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem. 13 Then Paul answered, “What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.” 14 So when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, “The will of the Lord be done.”
• Paul accepted the uncertainty and troubles that God had already revealed to him by the Holy Spirit (see Acts 20:22-23).

What God has not foretold?

The Nation of Israel – Seeking deliverance from the Philistines and the Ammonites during the time of the judges.

• Judges 10:15-16 And the children of Israel said to the LORD, “We have sinned! Do to us whatever seems best to You; only deliver us this day, we pray.” 16 So they put away the foreign gods from among them and served the LORD. And His soul could no longer endure the misery of Israel.
• To secure deliverance from their oppressors, the Nation of Israel turned from their idols and genuinely served the LORD. They were willing to accept the unknown consequences for their sin.

Joab and Abishai – Splitting up their troops to engage in battle with Ammon and Syria.

• 2 Samuel 10:11-12 Then he said, “If the Syrians are too strong for me, then you shall help me; but if the people of Ammon are too strong for you, then I will come and help you. 12 Be of good courage, and let us be strong for our people and for the cities of our God. And may the LORD do what is good in His sight.”
• Joab, the commander-and-chief of David’s army, expressed his understanding of and submission to God’s sovereignty. He was willing to accept the unknown outcome of the battles ahead.

King David – As he flees the rebellion of his son Absalom.

• 2 Samuel 15:25-26 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, He will bring me back and show me both it and His dwelling place. 26 But if He says thus: ‘I have no delight in you,’ here I am, let Him do to me as seems good to Him.”
• King David fled Jerusalem as his son Absalom returned to implement the final stage of his revolt. But because he understood God’s ultimate plan for his dynasty, David was willing to accept the uncertainty of his immediate future.

That God gives and takes away?

Job - After losing his wealth and his children to enemy attacks and natural disasters orchestrated by Satan.

• Job 1:20-21 Then Job arose, tore his robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped. 21 And he said:

“Naked I came from my mother’s womb,

And naked shall I return there.
The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away;
Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

• Despite the heartbreak and disappointment over his devastating losses, and being completely unaware about what is happening between God and Satan (see Job:1-5), Job refuses to sin, acknowledges the sovereign rule of God, and then blesses His name.

Will you praise Him regardless of what He does?

Will you bless the name of the LORD as He gives and when He takes away?

Are You Willing To Accept

The Sovereignty of God?

Prayer

Our King, Lord and Savior, please help your children accept and bow to Your sovereign rule. Help us to see beyond the temporal implications of this life to the eternal realities You have planned. Give us the strength, wisdom and trust to endure all things for Your glory. I ask these things in the name of Jesus, the spotless Son of God who died for my sins. Amen.

You’re Not the Only One

You’re Not the Only One

Do you ever feel inadequate when God’s purposes for your life seem to be beyond your abilities, knowledge, experience and means? Does your heritage or history haunt you and hold you back? If so, you’re not the only one. The truth of the matter is, His callings are beyond our personal capabilities. His standards automatically disqualify us! That is why we must rely on Him for wisdom, direction, power, resources and righteousness. And He usually calls us to rely on each other as well (we weren’t meant to be lone warriors)!

Here are three examples of men who questioned God choosing them to do great things for His glory. Each had their faults, and each made some disastrous decisions along the way. But when they trusted and obeyed God, they were mightily used by Him.

Moses

Chosen by God to:

• Confront Pharaoh and lead the Nation of Israel out of bondage in Egypt.
• Receive the Law of God and disseminate it to Israel.
• Deliver the Nation of Israel into the Promised Land.

When God called to Moses from the ‘burning’ bush and then told him about his mission to lead Israel out of captivity, this is how Moses replied:

• Exodus 3:11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?”

Gideon

Chosen by God to:

• Deliver Israel from the oppression of the Midianites.
• Lead 300 warriors of God into Battle against and army of 135,000.
• Serve as judge over the Nation of Israel.

When the Angel of the LORD spoke to Gideon in the winepress at Ophrah and told him that he would save Israel from the hand of the Midianites, Gideon responded with:

• Judges 6:15 So he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Indeed my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.”

King Saul

Chosen by God to:

• Serve as the first King appointed and anointed by God to rule over the Nation of Israel.
• Lead Israel under God’s authority and by His Law – set a God honoring example for all the Jews.
• Continue to deliver the Promised Land from the remaining Canaanites as directed by God.

When God used the prophet Samuel to reveal to Saul that he would be Israel’s first king, here is what Saul said:

• 1 Samuel 9:21 And Saul answered and said, “Am I not a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel, and my family the least of all the families of the tribe of Benjamin? Why then do you speak like this to me?”

It is a good thing to be in awe of God. When we consider who He is and what He has done, certainly we should see ourselves as inadequate. David expressed this well in the following verses.

• Psalm 8:3-4 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, The moon and the stars, which You have ordained, 4 What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?
• Psalm 144:3-4 LORD, what is man, that You take knowledge of him? Or the son of man, that You are mindful of him? 4 Man is like a breath; His days are like a passing shadow.

However, we must not allow our feelings of inadequacy to get in the way of our obedience to Him and trust in Him. In Jesus Christ, we can do all things.

• 1 Samuel 15:22 So Samuel said: “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed than the fat of rams.
• Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; 6 In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.
• Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

Our weaknesses provide the opportunity for the power of Christ to be displayed in our lives.

• 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Accomplishing great things for God is not about becoming great. It is about lowering ourselves and submitting all that we are to all that He is. His timing and ways are perfect.

• 1 Peter 5:6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time,
• Matthew 19:26 But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

You’re not the only one to feel inadequate.

Be one who obeys and trusts Him.

Then let the church and the world see

What God accomplishes through a faithful servant!

Prayer

Father God, creator of all things and giver of life, please help Your children see that you don’t expect us to do the impossible. What You desire is for Your faithful servants to submit to Your purposes, plans and power in a way that brings glory and honor to You. Help us to be weak so that Your strength is revealed. I pray these things in the name of Jesus my Savior. Amen.