HEAVENLY RESOURCES
25th Oct 2017
“Draw near to God and he will draw near to you,” writes James in Chapter 4 v 8 of his letter to scattered believers. In the Message it is rendered, “Say a quiet yes to God and he’ll be there in no time.”
As I pondered these statements I realised afresh how independent I am - but usually the realisation only becomes apparent after I have failed, and then eventually turned back to God for help and comfort!
We have been brought up in a culture that values independent thinking and honours self effort; so turning instinctively to the resources of the Godhead is indeed a process of renewing our mind and death to self.
I was in a Church recently, and in a quiet moment we were encouraged to listen to God. Earlier we had been singing a song containing the line, “Be the fire in my heart, be the wind in my sails, be the reason that I live - Jesus.” As I closed my eyes to listen, I immediately saw a burning, blazing light and felt the Lord say, “If you want to feel the effect of my fire, then draw closer.”
Later in the service we were challenged about love being the characteristic that sets Christians apart, and we were confronted regarding ‘inconvenient love’ and the need to be consistent in our witness in everyday life. We know love is a command and a challenge - knowing we should, and frequent failure causes condemnation; that is until we once again let go of independence and turn to our Father and ask for His Holy Spirit to so live his life within us that we can find the resources to do what He has commanded!
My prayer for myself and you is that we are quick to turn to our Father for help, quick to recognise and repent from self reliance and increasingly quick to trust and see Him doing the impossible. Jesus said, “Without me you can do nothing.”
Psalm 18:29 says, “With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall.”
by Joyce Sibthorpe
