December 1st
14 And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect, declares the Sovereign LORD . 15 ” ‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by and your beauty became his. 27 So I stretched out my hand against you and reduced your territory; I gave you over to the greed of your enemies, the daughters of the Philistines, who were shocked by your lewd conduct. Ezekiel 16:14-15,27 NIV
5Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
It seems like its human nature to trust ourselves instead of God. We’ll easily trust in our wealth, beauty, strength, talent, or any other good quality we have, but when it comes to trusting God, we may falter. If our flesh is ruling our lives, instead of our spirit, we’re bound to seek tangible sources of strength, because that’s what the flesh knows and understands. The flesh doesn’t like things that it can’t see and touch.
The challenge of living by faith is that often we can’t see God’s kingdom at work in the natural. We know that at some point in the future it will be clearly visible to all people, but for now it is veiled. Even so, we are surrounded by evidence of his work, such as all of creation. God calls us to put our faith in him and trust him for all things. This requires us to seek him. Jesus said, “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33 NIV). Those “things” that Jesus was talking about were all things that we need for living, such as food, shelter and clothing. God is a good God and he loves us very much. He longs for opportunities to demonstrate his affection toward us. Our trust in him opens up the opportunities.
It takes humility to say “I need you, God,” or “Please help me, as I can’t do this in my own strength.” It takes humility to wait on God for an answer to our prayers for guidance and direction. It takes humility to obey God when he tells us not to do something we want to do. If we decide to continue trusting in our own abilities and strengths, we can’t expect God to draw near to us. Our self-sufficiency is equivalent to arrogance toward God, and he’ll maintain his distance from us. James wrote:
6 But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.”
7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. James 4:6-8 NASB
When we exercise humility by trusting in God, we have the assurance that he will draw near to us and hear our prayers.
Questions for further thought:
What are some of the reasons we may not trust God completely?
What are the lies behind those reasons?
What happened to the people who trusted in their beauty in the above passage from Ezekiel?
Though faith (trust) is invisible, what is its power potential? (Mark 9:23)
If our faith is weak, what can we do for help? (Mark 9:24)
Prayer:
“Lord God, thank you that your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Thank you that you are God and that there is no God but you. Please forgive me for not fully trusting in you; for the times when I may have faltered in my faith and relied on my own abilities, talents or resources. I answer your call to live by faith and commit to seeking you each day. Please help me overcome any unbelief I may have. Please help me recognize where you are at work in the situations I’m in today and how to join you in that work. Thank you, Father! I pray this in Jesus’ name, Amen.”