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Therefore hath the Lord recompensed me according to my
Righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands In his sight. Ps18:24 God is not bound by rules or formulas or our requests and demands. God is free. Yet when he does act, it is not because he is forced to act but that he acts out of his mercy and grace and love and compassion. If we think we deserve the blessings of God we certainly miss the point. We are the clay and he is the potter. He can do with the clay as He pleases, but having said that, we can dispose ourselves to the blessings of God in many ways. In this particular passage the psalmist is rewarded for being righteous and having clean hands. But behind it all is God’s mercy and love not works we have done. We might look to our faith. We might look to our obedience. We might look to our steadfastness. We might look to our yieldedness. But God does not have to move on our behalf for any of those things if he so chooses. God is free. In my Christian life I have looked for the formula. If I do this, that, or the other thing, then God will bless. I will get my answer to prayer. If I pray enough, fast enough, confess enough, believe enough. It is always predicated on something I have to do and not on the love and mercy and grace of God and certainly not allowing God the freedom to bless or not bless as he chooses. Because I have thought the blessing of God rested with me I have been deluded in my faith. It is not to him that wills nor to him that runs but God who shows mercy. It is living the Christian life because it is the life that God wants me to live rather than what I get out of it that makes all the difference. God honors faith. God honors prayer. God honors obedience. God honors righteousness. But until I have been thoroughly disappointed and neglected and disillusioned God may very well withhold the blessing. Until I learn that all the blessings of God are a free gift, are a grace, I am badly ignorant of God’s ways. He can do what he likes with us and that usually means trials, difficulties, and tribulation regardless of my faith and works and that is what is so bewildering to the believer. We can not force God’s hand. All we can do is dispose ourselves to the blessings of God and leave the outcome in His hands and that, my friends, is real faith. So if you are prone to seek a formula, if you think that by doing such and such you will always be heard and answered, God will probably send a whirlwind to disillusion you but in so doing get you to the place of real faith and trust in God and not in works that we have done. So continue to do the things that God asks us to do and believe for the answer, but know that God is free and can do with us as he likes. Amen |