Trusting in the Details
January 31, 2019
Pride: Posing and Posturing
February 14, 2019
God frequently warns us about drifting.
We must pay the most careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. (Heb. 2:1)
He also frequently reminds us to remember who He is—and who we are in comparison:
When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the Lord your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the Lord your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down … then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God … (Deut. 8:10)
When we do not make a conscious effort to remember who He is—God Almighty! (who loves you perfectly)—we drift. Oh, do we drift.
I feel confident you have never said to God Almighty, “God, today I am going to ignore you. And I plan to let this one day of indifference roll into a full week, then into a month, and then perhaps for even a few more weeks.”
But you have actually had this happen, haven’t you? You did not make a conscious choice to ignore God; you drifted. But if we are honest with ourselves we have to admit we did indeed choose to drift, by not choosing to … remember.
We drift in three primary ways:
Intellectually: “I used to believe that.”
Morally: “I used to think that was wrong.”
Priorities: “I used to make time for that. That used to be a top priority for me.”
A Body-Mind-Spirit drifting.
When we fail to remember God in all our ways, we drift into remembering Self in all our ways. This is a dangerous, slippery slope into pride and fear.
When you think “I did this,” then you will swell with pride. But … you will soon slip into fear, because if you did it, then you have to keep doing it. The phrase “If it’s to be, it’s up to me!” is a terrible taskmaster.
Again, God reminds us:
You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth … (Deut. 8:17-18)
If you remind yourself to remember it is God Almighty who was with you in all the details, you will stop the dreadful drift into pride and instead stay grounded in humility.
Humility is a wonderful thing. When I remember God in all my details, I will naturally be more humble, and I can then release the “If it’s to be, it’s up to me” monster and relax in my Father’s perfect love.
To put a fine point on it, when I abandon the outcome to God, then I can do my best, look to the Holy Spirit for His best, and then release and relax.
Note to all who read Oswald Chambers daily devotion “My Utmost for His Highest:” We have put together a podcast of 3 minute summaries of each daily devotion.
If you go to “Understanding Oswald” in Podcasts, you can sign up for it.
It is also on our www.721ministries.org website.
