I spent the better of yesterday under the gun of meetings, phone calls, and deadlines! There was no question that it was day of pressure. At the end of the day, I could not gladly ask a benediction of the Spirit on what had been done. Wondering why my soul felt such lack of peace, I reflected on my words and thoughts. It was then the conceit of Self that had subtly wormed into my heart became obvious. Instead of accepting each responsibility along with the grace promised by my Father, I took the work into my own hands, which eventually led a sense of being ‘burdened.’ Where I was invited to participate in His work I saw only how “I” was being pressed. Isn’t that ugly? Even when presented the opportunity to show Christ Jesus’ love to a homeless woman when she called looking for housing at 8 PM, I responded only out of duty, not with real grace. Selfish conceit (“Couldn’t you have called me at 5 instead of 8?”) took away my ability to find and know the Spirit’s strength in that moment.
God promises to renew our strength, to provide grace for every moment. One of my mottos says “Where God guides, He provides.” That is not mere sentiment. He is our Provider. In his greatest hour of trial, Abraham choose to trust God totally and with the appearance of the ram in the thicket that was to replace his son on the altar, he worshipped “Yahweh Yireh” – the Lord, My Provider! We cannot know what He has provided if we are full of ourselves, if we resent others for asking much of us, or if we complain when we feel the pressures of life. Remember the ancient Israelites. God fed them and led them each day. They had all that they needed, yet they grew conceited and expressed only contempt for that which He freely gave to them. Because they were not humble before Him to receive each day’s manna, when it came time to enter the Promised Land, their conceit concealed His power from them. Lacking the boldness of a God-centered faith, they saw only the walled cities and inhabitants that became ‘giants’ in their twisted perspective.
Pressure will come. For those of us who are His disciples, this world is not a resting place. It is a battleground. We cannot stand in our own strength. Our own resources are insufficient to overcome the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Luther’s hymn richly reminds us that “Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing!” So, when weariness comes, I hope that I will dethrone Self and bow my head and heart before the One who leads me from strength to strength.
Here’s a word from the Word. May the truth inspire us to be centered on Jesus and defeat conceit.
"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (2 Corinthians 4:7-9, NIV) "Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18, NIV)
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A mighty fortress is our God, a bulwark never failing;
Our helper He, amid the flood of mortal ills prevailing:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Did we in our own strength confide, our striving would be losing;
Were not the right Man on our side, the Man of God’s own choosing:
Dost ask who that may be? Christ Jesus, it is He;
Lord Sabaoth, His Name, from age to age the same,
And He must win the battle.
And though this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us,
We will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us:
The Prince of Darkness grim, we tremble not for him;
His rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure,
One little word shall fell him.
That word above all earthly powers, no thanks to them, abideth;
The Spirit and the gifts are ours through Him Who with us sideth:
Let goods and kindred go, this mortal life also;
The body they may kill: God’s truth abideth still,
His kingdom is forever.
A Mighty Fortress
Martin Luther
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