HOW MUCH DOES THE LORD INFLUENCE YOUR DECISIONS?

SCRIPTURE:
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them 
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 
and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. 
And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 
(Matthew 28:19-20)
 
MEDITATION:
Many of us get “caught up in the moment” 
and try to solve conflicts in our own capacity.  
The problem is, 
most of us are not equipped to solve conflicts in our own strength.  

Oh sure, we have ideas and can formulate a plan, but is it the BEST plan?  
When we try to solve problems without including the Lord in our efforts, 
it is evident that there are some areas we have failed to give to the Lord.  
Our ego has prevented us from being totally dependent on Him.

How does God feel about arrogant pride and egotism?
He HATES it! (anything that God hates should not be a part of our lives)
God wants our dependence and not our independence.
Isn’t that what we want of our children when they are immature?

When we lose our ego, when we lose our arrogant pride, 
we develop humility and we recognize that we are 
spiritually immature and need God in our lives.
However some still hold on to their ego and arrogant pride with a tight fist.  

Some adopt the attitude of, 
“The Lord has bigger things to deal with so I’ll handle this on my own”.  
However, that’s not the relationship He wants with us.  
As we see in Matthew, the Lord wants to be involved in all that we do.  
And when we allow His influence on our lives, 
we will see our relationship with Him strengthened.  

When He prevents us from doing things our way, He is doing us
a bigger favor than we could ever imagine.  
He can see the entire big picture, but we can only see a snapshot.
When we claim to have faith in the Lord, it means we trust Him completely.

We live in a world where we stand when a president enters the room, 
however as believers, we are also citizens of a world where 
we bow down when the King enters the room.  
Let’s invite Him into every area of our life 
and consult with Him FIRST in every situation.
 
ACTION:
What are you still withholding from the Lord?
Is it your time, your selfishness, your ego, 
your pride, His tithe, or anything else?
When will you relinquish everything to Him?

“Some day” is ‘this day’.
Don’t hesitate until you are on the brink of meeting Him face to face.
Don’t wait until you can no longer include Him in your life, 
and look back with regret for never giving Him your all.

Pray,
“Heavenly Father, forgive me for trying to solve things myself. Help 
me to develop a habit of always coming to You first, and accepting 
Your answer over my own ideas, logic and emotions. Show me the 
things that I am still holding on to, and help me to release them into 
Your loving care.”