CWW Week 16 – Day 6 – God In The Family
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Joshua 24:15
‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’
Devotional.
We continue today to unpack the Resolution commitment with the twelfth principle of manhood.
“I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides, to fulfil this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.”
Over the past two weeks we have been looking deeply at our roles in the life of the family. I hope by now that we have seen the folly of the new philosophies of raising a so called, healthy family.
The gods of prosperity now occupy the alters of our family homes and we have been sacrificing our children on that alter thus undermining the foundations of future society. Perhaps those who have placed all their faith in evolution can now see how the move away from the original creation has gone a bridge too far.
In the final principle ofthe Resolution commitment, we touch beautifully on the wrapping that binds it all together.
Here we bravely commit to work with the courage and strength that only God can provide. In this we are not committing to working out at the gym and and arming ourselves with the weapons of war as we rely on ourselves in this battle. No. We can play this role in our families in any capacity. We don’t need the physique of Samson and the courage of a Rambo. We need the strength of David, which was the power of God in his life.
Our greatest weapon in the battle between good and evil is faith. Faith in knowing the unseen. Faith in trusting that God will make all things work for good if we surrender to His will.
Commitment.
Mission focus is all important. We must evolve a strategy that seeks the outcomes we want to achieve and then focus on the objective.
This requires a clear motive built around that objective. What do I want to achieve?
If what ever that motive and objective may be, is not built around love of others then is it God’s purpose and will He bless it?
Remember as Dr Tim Jennings says, method is a clear indicator of motive. A narcissist is not placing others ahead of himself he is totally focussed on his own outcomes and not those he pretends to love.
So the first question we should ask is, what do I want to achieve and why?
Is it self gratification or glorification? Then perhaps it is not of God and may not receive His blessing.
Commitment requires that we seek God’s vision and purpose in an action that we are undertaking. But we must take the first step. We must give God something to bless. Sitting on the platform waiting for God’s train to come, does not allow God to act because we offer Him nothing to bless.
Prayerful consideration and then acting in conscience is a very good start.
I failed in many ways in my first semester of life. I had no God and no faith and tried to perform to the best of my abilities in order to create a beautiful impression in a broken frame.
I knew how to love after a fashion and I worked on the basis that my happiness would benefit those I loved. I needed to earn to be able to spend more money in order that they would love me as wretched as I felt. If I stopped earning then all those I loved would desert me.
This is exactly what our society, driven by consumerism and fear control, wants us to believe. If we do that we support the machine of the elite at the expense of the tribe God gave us; our family.
Serving God is the best way to serve those we love because Gods motives are pure and this is demonstrated by His methods. God turned me around at the eleventh hour when He showed me that the best things in life aren’t things, they’re relationships. God showed me that a life of service to others is a life of true meaning. There is no amount of money in the world that can make you feel as fulfilled as the knowledge that your acts of kindness have changed the climate in the lives of others.
God will provide and bless us if we seek His will in love and compassion. He will not allow us to go forward in faith without equipping us to deal with the task. It therefore requires that to Him be the glory great things He has done. Nothing I do now in this space is for my own glory because I don’t want glory. I have no claim to it. I am not entitled to it. This belongs to god not man. God has shown me that a desire for personal glory is not blessed by Him and will never be unless He has a purpose to put a spotlight on us for what ever reason. But even then it must not be taken as our glory but His will being played out.
God wants us to take the work seriously but not ourselves.
“I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides, to fulfil this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.”
We only have two paths from which to choose at these crossroads at which we stand. What will you choose?
Joshua 24:15
‘As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.’
Questions.
- Do you have commitment issues in your life?
- Do you struggle to commit because you know you will fail because you always have?
- If your own self power source has failed you, are you now prepared to let go and let God?
Prayer.
Dear Lord, Papa God.
I have had a desire to put my painting in the right frame all of my life but nothing enhances the picture I am trying to create. I now know why Papa.
I need Your strength and courage to fulfil Your commitments to have me serve others. As I face an uncertain worldly future Papa, please strengthen me to be the person You would have me be that I may be a guide in my circle of influence, to the eternal Kingdom that only You can build. For this is my prayer in Your precious and Holy name. Amen.
Graham Hood.
