A Sure Way to Miss God (and not even know it)

A few weeks ago as part of our Faith Pirates series, we talked about King Asa's wisdom & leadership.  However, there was part of the story we did not cover.  For years Asa relied on God and lead his people to seek Him.  Yet toward the end of his reign, he relied on his own wisdom, talents and strengths when faced with a threat from King Baasha (see 2 Chronicles 16).  Unlike the previous threat, Asa never sought God, instead he relied on his own political and diplomatic skills to forge an alliance with the king of Aram against Baasha.  Here's the scary part:  his plan worked.  The threat from Baasha subsided and peace was preserved but he left God on the sidelines.

Depending on ourselves can bring success to our lives ...

This means we can work hard, do our best, use our "brains" & talents, take matters into our own hands ... and see positive results ... and yet miss God.  We can even think we are "blessed" because we have avoided trouble, made extra money, drawn a big crowd, earned accolades, or reached a certain level of achievement.  However, God sees it differently because God defines success differently. God defines success as faithfulness to Him and whenever we create or cause "success" apart from Him, He says we are "foolish."

In 2 Chronicles 16:7-9, Asa is rebuked for not relying on God and told that he would have had an even greater victory over Baasha if he had relied on God.

Depending on ourselves can bring success to our lives ... but it keeps us from experiencing God's best.

And God's best only comes when we are fully reliant, fully committed, and fully surrendered to Him. As A.W. Tozer said, "We have measured ourselves by ourselves until the incentive to seek higher plateaus in the Spirit is all but gone."

• When I have a financial choice to make, this means I pray and study the Scripture BEFORE choosing to save, invest, or give ... realizing that relying on God sometimes means very radically UN-relying on money (Matthew 6:24).


• When I prepare a sermon, this means spending MORE time with the Scriptures than with commentaries or other books ... realizing that the with the Bible comes the promise that a harvest will be reaped (Isaiah 55:11).


• When I preach, this means trusting the power of God's Word and Gospel, MORE than my presentation ... realizing that Paul intentionally preached in a way that minimized himself while maximizing God (1 Cor. 2:3-5).


• When I have a potential opportunity before me, this means I pause and wait on God (never to delay obedience), allowing my preferences and instincts to be submitted entirely to His will ... realizing that God's wisdom and timing are not mine (Isaiah 55:8).


• When I deal with people, this means my attitude must be humility and my actions must seek to honor others ahead of myself ... realizing that God's relational rules come from the Cross (Philippians 2:3-5).

God, may I never think that what I do apart from You can bring Your blessings.  May I never mistake the results of hard work for the genuine work of Your Spirit.  Instead, lead me beyond myself for only there do You become fully alive and only there is life full & abundant.