It is a source of amusement to us humans to observe a little terrier burying a bone, only to return in a short while to dig it up, then rebury it! Have we been like that in our prayer life at times, committing situations to the Lord, requesting His help, but then instead of trusting Him to work things out, we have “dug it all up” and allowed stress and unbelief to replace trust in God?
2 Timothy 1:12 “……..For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day”. Many wrestle with the committing. God is more than able to keep that which we commit into His hands. The wrestling takes place when we get the order wrong, wrestling with WHAT we believe instead of trusting and knowing on WHOM we have believed. God can grant us His peace as we exercise faith in Him to do His work.
The above scriptureI declares “and am persuaded that He is able”. Am I fully persuaded? Not entirely, but I am in a process. I may not have fully arrived, but I have most certainly left……and left a lot of baggage behind that once encumbered my walk with the Lord. Thank God He is continually working with us to bring us to the position of being fully persuaded to consult and trust Him with everything. The Holy Spirit chips away at the wrong believing in my heart until it lines up with the Word of God.
Consider Abraham. He was called by God to leave His homeland and to go out in blind obedience to follow God’s direction, not knowing where he was going, (Hebrews 11:8). God had a plan, a wonderful plan for Abraham, but he had to leave where he was, and what he knew, to enter into his divine destiny. There is a divine destiny for all of us, but so many live their whole lives and never enter into it because of their choices, wrong choices. Psalm 78 is the sad account of the children of Israel turning back in their hearts and “limiting the Holy One of Israel”, (verse 41). How incredible that our wrong choices can limit the Unlimited One!
The book of Genesis records the full account of Abraham’s journey to strong faith. We can identify with his trials as he learns from his many mistakes. We see the man of flesh making all kinds of wrong decisions along his journey. He also attempted to fulfil the word God had given him in his own strength, but only produced Ishmael. How many of us have moved ahead of God, not waiting for His appointed time, and only produced our Ishmaels? Do we really appreciate what Abraham had to eventually choose in order to come to the position of being fully persuaded he could trust God in everything. He had to send his son, Ishmael, away, but God did make provision for Ishmael, (Genesis 21). Abraham had to work through his grief (v.11) in obedience to the Lord. Further along his journey, we find God testing Abraham requesting himto sacrifice Isaac. Can we possibly imagine what emotions Abraham was working through? Here was Isaac, the son of promise, birthed of God against all human possibility, and now God was asking him to sacrifice him. Abraham went through this tremendous trial, obeying God to the uttermost, believing and accounting that God was able to raise him from the dead (Hebrews 11:19) to fulfil the promise of His word, “In Isaac shall your seed be called”, (v. 20). God prevented Abraham from slaying his son but Abraham had proved himself to be fully persuaded that God was able to keep that which he had committed to Him. That which is birthed of God cannot die!
How often have we sung under the anointing, “All to Jesus I surrender…..”. Sadly there have been times when these words have not proved true when put to the test. Under the anointing of God, in the light, God reveals things to us. We witness to the truth and our lips produce words to pay homage to the Lord in it. Then the testing comes in the school of life. Here is where I sanctify the word of God in my heart, choices and actions. When circumstances arise, do I say, “Not that, Lord”? I sang “All to Jesus I surrender”, but when He comes for my words, this is the testing place. God’s word comes to me, born in glory (under the anointing), grown in gloom, (the school of life), it should then go back to God in glory – all glory to God. Our revelation has to be worked out in our situation, otherwise we have evaporation.
If I find I am not in the place where I can truthfully say, “I surrender all”, do not enter into condemnation, because I still have choice. I can ask the Lord to work with me to bring me to the place of surrender He requires. My unwillingness is not an obstacle to God, my refusal to choose to allow Him to change me is. God knows how to address my stubborn will. When you have experienced the sweetness and peace of surrender, then more and more you will realise there is no comparrison to the fruit of stubbornness!
Philippians 2:13 “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure”. God knows how to work with unwilling people. When I choose to surrender to His working, He brings me to the place of willingness. He works His willing into my willing, and His doing into my doing, and here, oh hallelujah, I find His good pleasure is my good pleasure! Surrender is a sacred place to the Lord, for here His will can be done. His kingdom is expressed through me and to others. Here is where the abundant Life of Jesus flows in expression and demonstration to the world – all glory to the Father!
