“That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and
the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death “ (Phil 3:10)
I only want one thing in life- Jesus. That I may know Him. I
don’t want a new plan, a new motivation, or a story of Christian success. I
want Him. I am done with me and my Christian lifestyle (or lack of it at
times).
Steve writes in his book on page 26, “I give God permission
to do anything He wishes to me, with me, in me, or through me that would
glorify Him. I once claimed these rights as mine, but now they belong to God
and are under His control. He can do with them anything He pleases.”
As I read on, I was challenged to list the things that
brought me a sense of worth in life. For me, this included: my knowledge about
certain things, my experiences, my social status, my plans, having it “all
together”, and even my sanctification. They were all about me and how I
appeared to others. They were all things that I really liked about my Christian
lifestyle and felt good about when I was succeeding at them. Having all of
those aspects seemed like a well rounded, acceptable package.
The problem was that the focus was all on me- all I could do
or not do. If I sought hard after those things, I would appear as a joyful
Christian bringing God glory. If I was in the pit for a while and didn’t seek
after those things, I would appear as a Christian who is failing on my part and
is not choosing to seek God and not bringing Him glory. See? It all goes back
to me, and what I’m doing or not doing when in fact, I am completely missing
the whole point!
Steve writes, “It is God’s purpose to bring us to the place
where we rest totally in the sufficiency of Christ within us in every
situation. Yet we have all learned how to handle life’s circumstances by what we do ourselves. Many American’s believe
that God helps those who help themselves. And sadly, many Christians have
spiritualized that same false philosophy and concluded that God will bless us
as we ‘do our part.’” (p. 29)
I had this mentality that in order for sanctification to
progress, I needed to be doing all I could on my part, and whenever I couldn’t
do anymore, that’s when I would pray that God would step in with His
supernatural work and do the rest. I have since then, by God’s grace, come to
see that none of my obedience is from me. Colossians 1:29 says, “For this I
toil, struggling with all His energy that He powerfully works within me.”
Anything that I do in this life is all a gift from God and all through His
power.
We please God when we rest in Him. That’s all there is to
it. Steve reminds us that, “resting in Christ is the sole responsibility of the
Christian. Everything else flows out of that (p. 37)…He isn’t interested in
what we can do for Him. Christ is interested in living His life through us.”
(p. 35) Just as Mary chose to sit at the Savior’s feet, we need to choose
everyday to rest in Jesus. It is so easy to take our focus off of Jesus and
focus on merely serving Him. We totally miss the boat when we do that.
Life with Jesus is about an intimate, beautiful relationship
with the Father. It’s not about how many good works we can do for Him or how we
can serve Him better. Although good works have a place in the Christian life,
their place is that which comes from the overflow of our precious relationship
with Him.
Father, thank You for
grace. I can’t imagine life without it, life without You. When I get distracted
with the troubles and worries of this life, even serving You, gracefully turn
my gaze back on you. Help me rest in You, and as I do, pour out Your life and
light through me. Grace me with a thankful heart that continually looks to You
and offers up thanks with every breath. Keep molding me and teaching me,
Father. I love you, Amen.
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