“…and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.” Exodus 3:2
Dear Ones:
Do we really believe that God can work in our hearts, and in those around us? Do we believe that He can do the miraculous thing that God alone can do? If the Lord Jesus is that One who “works in us the willing and the doing of His good pleasure,” can we not trust Him to do the wonderful thing, bringing us into conformity with His will and purposes? After all, He is the God of all flesh, our Maker and Redeemer.
If we were to compare Nicodemus and the apostle Philip, we might discover that, though they were very different men in almost every way, they both had something in common: they both sought to put God in a box according to their hesitation to believe that the Lord Jesus was God. For Nicodemus, he could not wrap his mind around the fact that, of necessity, there had to be a miracle of God in the life of an individual, for that one to enter the kingdom of God. The God of creation would need to be in reality, the God of redemption by His direct intervention. For Philip, facing the “impossible” feeding of the five thousand with just a few loaves of bread and a few fish, would be taught not to limit the Lord by what he saw, relating all to men’s abilities and resources rather than to God’s. Both men, for one reason or another, put God in a box, limiting Him by what they saw and thought.
When Moses saw the burning bush, he was intrigued, because it was not consumed. God was calling him to consider that which was beyond the scope of man to conceive, or accomplish. And so, we are faced with the same issue. God is constantly calling us to consider the “impossible,” from man’s standpoint and limitations, to believe in God for that which God ALONE can do. When the Lord tells his disciples to “…have faith in God,” He is calling them to step into the realm of all things being possible WITH GOD. So, we come back to our question: Can we really believe God for His blessed work in our hearts, and in those of others, that His will and purposes will be realized? Can we truly trust Him to work in us the WILLING and the DOING of His good pleasure?
Dear Father, it was the the Apostle Paul’s desire and prayer for the believers at Thessalonica, that, “…the very God of peace, sanctify you wholly.” He went on by saying, “….and I pray God your whole spirit, and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Strengthen our hearts to pray likewise, and to believe that, “Faithful is He who calls you, who also WILL do it.” (1 Thess. 5:23,24) Do that, dear Lord, which You ONLY can do. We praise and thank Thee in Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad