Ann and I have lived being scared, fearful, depressed, mad and angry. We’ve worked in and been through a painful church split. We’ve had to split from family in order to go on with Jesus. We’ve had hundreds of thousands of dollars in the bank, and we’ve been on welfare and food stamps. We’ve each had total emotional breakdowns. We’ve lived lives where we were not thanking and praising God in all things. We’ve lived with the choices of our own understanding by not believing that God was really working all things together for our good. Fortunately, God allowed us to be put in a position where we had to take a leap of faith and to try to take Him at His Word. We wish we’d taken Him at His Word a lot sooner…
Ever thought to yourself, “I know better than to do something like that” when it comes to putting any part of the Word of God into practice in your life? I have. And it always cost me dearly. No doubt about it. I never enjoyed not doing God’s Word. Never.
The entire 11th chapter of the Bible’s New Testament book of “Hebrews” is dedicated to the men and women who chose not to lean on their own understanding, and instead, chose to follow and trust God at all costs.
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
Romans 11:33-36
When I lean, I’m beginning to go in a direction. I may not have started down a certain path, but I’m intending to do it when I lean in a direction. It’s the first action leading to carrying out a decision I’ve made.
God never told me I could wait to “do” His Word until I understood it, until I understood (my own understanding marred by sin) why I should do it. He expected me to just do it. His ways are much higher than mine, and even past finding out (Hebrews 11:33-36 above). If I wait until I have His understanding before I obey Him, I could wait forever. This kind of reminds me of Jesus being amazed at how little faith people had in His day.
Ann and I are well aware of the fact that many (including many Christians) think we’re really weird by praising and thanking God in all things. It’s okay though because we realize how powerful a weapon it is in the spiritual weapons arsenal God’s building into our lives. And we realize that we need to keep doing it so others will take the same leap of faith we took in praising and thanking God in all things. The reward for doing it is so real and exciting in the spiritual realm. And doing it motivates us to want to be obedient to more and more of His Word that leads to the incredible spiritual blessings contained in His liberating ways.
Ann and I were talking this morning (Monday, 8-12-19) about thanking and praising God in all things like He tells us to do in various Bible passages. I told Ann, “People can have a difficult time believing they should and can thank and praise God in all things. I told her I am so thankful God showed us to thank and praise Him in all things because it has really given us a powerful weapon against discouragement, sudden fear, not trusting God, and in so many other areas in our walk with Jesus. I said, “I wonder what keeps us from obeying the scriptures about thanking and praising Him in all things?” That’s when Ann said, “We’re leaning on our own understanding. That’s what keeps us from thanking and praising Him.” Wow, her words were so powerful. They stopped me in my tracks, and really took me by surprise. I could tell the Holy Spirit was speaking something super-meaningful and liberating. This topic is so deep and wide, and involves everything in our relationship with God, with His Word.
Once I began doing what God asked of me, little by little, I began to gain His understanding of why I needed to thank and praise Him in all things. This is so true of most things God asks of me when I don’t yet understand why I should obey a piece of scripture. He’s asking me to step out in faith and to take Him at His Word whether I understand it yet or not. Satan will do all he can (“Hath God surely said? What will your friends and family think if you do it? You may look like a fool. Are you willing to risk that?”) to keep us in our own understanding so we do not get free in Jesus. God’s truths set us free and the devil knows it which is why he uses fear (like the powerful fear of man) to keep us trapped. And I can honestly tell you that I’ve been the devil’s fool by leaning on my own prideful, limited, pitiful understanding. All I ever got out of it was unforgiveness, doubting God, depression, misery, unrest, fear, worry, jealousy, the fear of man, bitterness, anger, insecurity, competition, confusion, pride, etc. Ann and I have made the choice to be God’s fools, to be doers of His Word, and to follow Him into all the freedom Jesus paid for on the cross. And, God is having us (and many others) do it so others will want to do it as well.
For the longest time, I didn’t thank and praise God in all things. I thought doing so was ridiculous and crazy. I mean, really, in all things? It just didn’t make sense – I was leaning on my own understanding and it was preventing me from using this powerful weapon and from getting free in Jesus in the area of thanking and praising Him in all things. I was being held prisoner in my own understanding – Satan loves it when we do this. As the morning moved on, the Holy Spirit began speaking to my heart and I wondered what other areas of my life were still being held captive to my own understanding. I thought about the unsaved people of this world and how they are being held captive by the world’s understanding. This is huge.
I thought, “Where did thine own understanding originate?” In the Garden of Eden, of course, when Satan said, “Hath God surely said? God knows you won’t die if you eat of the tree of the knowledge of Good and Evil.”
This is where our doubts, confusion and questioning God has its roots – This is where all sin, all rebellion against God began for mankind – With the father of all lies. This is when and where faith became fear. This is where we lost our freedom as children of God. And we’ve been building on our own understanding for thousands of years now. And the sin of pride keeps us growing it, expanding on it, and trapped in it. We love knowledge (it feeds our pride), we idolize it and worship it to the point that it robs us of our relationship with God and His Word. And so we stay bound. Think of it. How many more of God’s blessings are we missing out on because of being held back by and stuck in our own understanding? This is huge…
God sets before us each day “life and death.” He tells us to choose life. He’s telling us to be doers of His Word at all costs so we don’t perpetuate the death that keeps stealing, killing and destroying us.
Please remember, you are not fighting against flesh and blood but against principalities and powers of darkness in your struggle to follow Jesus to freedom (Ephesians 6:12). The same lie Satan used in the Garden is being used to keep you bound. “Hath God surely said?”
Is it hard for you to do the Word? Are doubt and fear keeping you from doing it? Do you find yourself leaning on your own understanding? Will you let Jesus set you free from the darkness holding you back?
Praise and thank God in all things and become FREE. Just do it and watch your relationship with Jesus grow beyond anything you thought could be achieved in Him. You’ll be so glad you did and you’ll be well on your way to becoming unbound, and free indeed.
If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
John 8:36
Choose to LIVE FREE – INDEED!
God bless,
Mark