How many times have you been stuck in a trying situation with your back against the wall, and attempted to reason your way out of it by making a deal with God? You say, “God if you just allow me to get this job, I’ll study my Bible intently for a year;” or “God if you help me do well on this test, I’ll make sure I go to church for the next month;” or even still, “God if you help me get this date, I’ll make sure to share the Gospel with at least one person this week.” We constantly use our relationship with God to make deals with Him, and expect that if we do one thing, God will give us something we deserve in return. Many other times, we will also use our own reasoning and logic to attempt to tell God what we think is best, or what we think He should do in our lives. As if we somehow have necessary input that our omniscient God is forgetting to recognize. We completely disregard His plan for our lives, and expect Him to do what we will.
Since the beginning of Creation, God has always been in complete control, and man has been attempting to take that control into it’s own hands. If you look back at the creation account in Genesis, you will immediately see all forces working to remove the power from God’s plan, and transport it into the will of each individual man. The serpent immediately causes questioning in both Adam and Eve’s hearts, and then they end up rebelling against God, deeming themselves wiser than the God who created them. In Matthew 16: 21-23, Jesus begins to reveal to his disciples the will of God, that He must go to Jerusalem, suffer at the hands of men, and ultimately be killed so that He may rise on the third day. Peter begins to refute the words of Jesus claiming, “This shall never happen to you.” Peter honestly believes that he is doing a good thing for Jesus, telling Him that He is overreacting, and everything will be ok in the end. The response that Jesus gives to Peter reveals everything we need to know about telling God what is going to happen in our lives. Jesus tells Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on things of man.” Jesus tells Peter that all he is doing is hindering God’s good and powerful will in every living person’s life, no good will come from man telling God what to do. Now, this begs the questions:
WHY DO WE THINK WE CAN TAKE CONTROL OF OUR OWN LIVES?
AND
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE TRY?
We have been provided with plenty of examples throughout the Bible of what happens when we attempt to “make deals” with God, or put the will of God on our own terms. In Acts 5, we are told the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who sold a piece of property in order to tithe the proceeds to the young church under Peter. The only problem with this story happens to be that Ananias and Sapphira withhold some of the earnings from God and the church because they believe it would be more beneficial to them to keep a portion.
“Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to men but to God…But Peter said to her, “How is it that you have agreed together to test the Spirit of the Lord? Behold, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out.” Immediately she fell down at his feet and breathed her last.”-Acts 5: 3-4, 9-10
Through the Word of the Spirit, we have been provided in this account with the perfect example of why we attempt to take charge of our own lives, and what will happen if we try. Ananias believed that he knew what was ultimately best for himself and his wife; therefore he withheld some of the profit that his land yielded, which he said he would give to the church. All he did was what we attempt to do all of the time. We say we’re going to give everything we have to God, yet we constantly withhold from him. Why do we withhold? Everything that we have is already God’s anyways, yet we have maintained the notion that somehow we possess things outside of that which God has provided, as if we have paved our own route through life. When we deceive, we are not only deceiving the hearts of men, we are attempting to deceive God. Yet God knows everything, so this attempt lies futile, and we end up stuck in a situation that will never end well for us. The good we believe we are doing for ourselves, ends up being polar opposite from the will God had laid out before us (Acts 2:28), and we must be rebuked back into the confines of His will. In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, it was death that they received from the Lord because they were withholding what was rightfully His. While we might not always end up dying physically for the sins we commit, in a sense we kill ourselves spiritually because we limit our own growth in Christ by withholding our lives from Him, our lives which are rightfully His.
Finally, we receive parting words of wisdom from Jesus, who amidst trials and temptations in the desert, was able to restrain the will of Satan, the only living man who could this, and gave all believers a commandment regarding our own dealings with God.
“YOU SHALL NOT PUT THE LORD YOUR GOD TO THE TEST.”- Luke 4: 12
Jesus, while resisting temptation in every way, clung tightly to the will of God, because He knew that God’s will reigns supreme in everyone’s life. What he is exclaiming here is this: I know you will be tempted and you will suffer, but the will of God will bring you into ultimate glory. Do not try to escape it or reason with it, but live coherently and joyfully within. For when you are within the will of God, there is no greater joy you can find. Testing the One who created all things, and telling Him you know what should really happen is futile and foolishness. No good will come from finding your own way in life, you will only end up isolated and weary. Go to the One who can give you peace and rest.
Live joyfully and boldly; knowing the Lord your God has given all things for you.
God Bless,
Trip Starkey
Amen.
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