EMPTY-HANDED LEADS TO FULLNESS FROM GOD, PART 3
My wife asked
me a very important question on the eve of Valentine's day:
"What does it mean to approach God empty handed?" Rob Chaffart
Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org
As best as I could I tried to explain it to her. However
human explanations are far from being perfect, and the
question was not answered either of our satisfaction!
That night we went out for our Valentine's dinner. It was
delicious Mediterranean cuisine, followed with a sumptuous
desert. We had a great time together. Once home though, I
attacked a stack of problems and then went to bed. But there
was one little problem: my spoiled digestive system would
not let me fall asleep! I was too full! I tried to stay in
bed, but as I was wrestling to fall asleep, I became
concerned that I might be keeping my wife awake! So I took
my pillow and crept to the guestroom. After spending some
quiet time with God, I would sleep there!
I love those times spend with God! Every time I am in His
presence, I am so blessed! As I was praying, I felt that God
was on the verge of revealing something important to me. God
wanted to answer my wife's question, clearly and simply!
The first answer to the question came through a book I was
reading by a writer named John Bevere: "The most effective
way for the enemy to blind us is to cause us to focus on
ourselves." (Bevere, John. THE BAIT OF SATAN. Lake Mary,
Florida: Charisma House, 1997, p. xiv.)
Whoa!
I picked up my Bible and started reading Rom. 8:5-9:
"Those who think they can do it on their own end up obsessed
with measuring their own moral muscle but never get around
to exercising it in real life. Those who trust God's action
in them find that God's Spirit is in them — living and
breathing God! OBSESSION WITH SELF IN THESE MATTERS IS A
DEAD END; attention to God leads us out into the open, into
a spacious, free life. FOCUSING ON THE SELF IS THE OPPOSITE
OF FOCUSING ON GOD. ANYONE COMPLETELY ABSORBED IN SELF
IGNORES GOD, ENDS UP THINKING MORE ABOUT SELF THAN GOD. THAT
PERSON IGNORES WHO GOD IS AND WHAT HE IS DOING. AND GOD
ISN'T PLEASED AT BEING IGNORED. But if God himself has taken
up residence in your life, you can hardly be thinking more
of yourself than of him." from THE MESSAGE
That was it, plain and simple! There is no better way to
define being empty handed -- it's when you are so totally
focused on God that you cannot focus on yourself! You know
that God has all the solutions to your problems, but you
don't try and solve them your way. This means saying, in the
midst of "Lord, give me YOUR perspective on my problems. I
want to join you in whatever you are doing. By myself I can
do nothing. However victory is mine through the merits of
your Son. Hallelujah!" With this attitude, you can't help
but praise God continually, no matter what the circumstances
are. You know that you are a child of God and you know God
will show the way through every situation! Praise be to God!
It's no wonder that so many prayers are not answered! "God
give me this and give me that...." We are sometimes so self
focused when praying that we treat God as our slave. When we
"end up thinking more about self than God", we are "ignoring
who God is and what He is doing"! God cannot be ignored!
What's the solution if you are in that kind of a bind, where
self absorbs all your attention?
"If God himself has taken up residence in your life, you can
hardly be thinking more of yourself than of him" Simply,
instead of praying "God give me this and give me that....",
invite Jesus to take over your life and "take up residence
in your life". He will show you God's perspective in all of
your situations, if you let Him. When He is your number 1 in
your life, His perspective will always be clear to you, even
in the most desperate situations. This is what Jesus meant
when He said: Matt 11:28-30 "Come to me, all you who are
weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke
upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in
heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is
easy and my burden is light." NIV
Will you join me and invite God to be your number 1 in life?
You won't regret your decision. He wants to become your
bosom friend. Will you let Him? Try His perspective and be
blessed! Thank you Jesus for caring so much for me!
In His love,