I have always wondered why God would ask us to pray. We pray selfishly. We don’t have a clue what to ask God to do that would bring Him glory and not us. There is always too much “me” in my prayers. Besides, doesn’t He know what we need better than we do? Why doesn’t He just go ahead and do what needs to be done?
Why does God work through people to accomplish His will and purposes? Surely He knows we are flawed and irresponsible, and yet He still invites us to join Him in His quest to reconcile the world to Himself. He invited the likes of Abraham, Noah, Moses, David, Paul and others to bring about His will. Why does He stake the eternal destiny of mankind on our trust and obedience? Because He wants to do it WITH us, not in spite of us. And He won’t do it without us. Take a look at this scary verse:
“I looked for someone who might rebuild the wall of righteousness that guards the land. I searched for someone to stand in the gap in the wall so I wouldn’t have to destroy the land, but I found no one. So now I will pour out my fury on them, consuming them with the fire of my anger. I will heap on their heads the full penalty for all their sins. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!” (Ezekiel 22:30)
God told Ezekiel He was going to punish the House of Israel and all their corrupt religious leaders who were profaning the holy things of God. God said that if He could find someone who would stand in the gap and intercede on behalf of the people, He would not pour His wrath upon them. But alas, no one responded to God’s earnest plea.
I don’t think God has changed His ways even today. James said that “we have not because we ask not, and that we don’t receive because we ask selfishly totally disregarding God’s will and purpose” (James 4:2-3). God wants to involve us in what He is doing in the world. And just what is it that God is wanting to do?
I believe if we could ask Jesus what He wanted for this world more than anything else, He would say: “I want people to trust My love for them. I want them to let Me give them life. I want to share all of Myself and all I have created with My children.”
But Jesus said, “Without Me, you can do NOTHING” (John 15:5). The Apostle Paul said, “I can do ALL THINGS thru Him Who gives me strength” (Philippians 4:13). Without HIM, we can’t. Without US, He won’t. He just flat out wants to do what He does IN, THROUGH and WITH us. If we don’t cooperate, God chooses to wait until He finds someone who will. It’s that simple.
If Jesus physically lived in our community, what do you think He would be doing? Do you think He would encourage people? Love people? Comfort people? Laugh with people? Cry with people? Help people bear their burdens? Get involved in relationships with people? Heal people? Deliver people from the oppression of the devil? Of course, He would!
Listen! I have some incredible news for you! Jesus IS alive and well and living in our community! Yes, that’s right. He is living right here among us. You may not have recognized Him because He lives in a borrowed “earthsuit.” How so? Take a look at this:
“I have been crucified with Christ. I no longer live, but Christ lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).
“While we are in this world, we are exactly like Him with regard to love. No fear exists where His love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love” (I John 4:17-18).
Okay. If Jesus is my life… if He is living His life in and through me… then why am I not loving, reaching, encouraging and comforting people? Because I am afraid. Afraid of what? Rejection. None of us likes being rejected. But what we don’t understand is that if we have trusted Jesus to live in us, then it’s impossible to be rejected. Will Jesus ever be rejected by His Father? Absolutely not! If we trusted His love and His Word, our fear would be gone and Jesus would live unhindered thru us and people would see Him, not us. Isn’t that cool?
Just the other day I went to Lowe’s to buy some cord to make my grandboys a device to hone their golf swings. When I came to the checkout, I greeted the lady helping me by name and asked how she was doing. She responded that she was okay and asked how I was doing. I said, “I’m good for a man in my condition. But if I don’t trust Jesus every minute, my condition worsens. But He never lets me down.”
She put the cord in a bag, handed it to me and walked out from behind the counter. She began to tell me the struggle she was having with her husband and how she had to pray all the time. We spent a few minutes praising Jesus for never leaving or forsaking us and then we hugged, laughed together and encouraged one another. She was burdened down and just needed someone to let her unload and be reminded that Jesus knew all about it and understood. With her load and mine both lightened we parted ways… refreshed and a little more joyful all because Jesus asked if He could borrow my earthsuit for a minute so He could love on her a little.
I had been in a really bad mood all day long. I was not on my “A” game spiritually. I was not looking to “minister” to anybody. As I walked to the car, Jesus whispered in my ear: “You don’t have to be in a good mood for me to love people through you, Kenny. I just need you to get out of the way. Thank you for letting Me love on her today.”
Since Jesus left the planet physically, the only body He has now is yours and mine. He won’t commandeer your body and take over. He just politely asks if you mind if He could borrow it. What happened between me and that lady, I could not do without Him. But He would not have done it either had I said “no” to Him.
Without Him, we can’t. Without us, He won’t
You think about that…
Blessings,
Kenny
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