What a powerful verse, yet one that is so rarely understood or followed through on. On the surface it says commit whatever you are doing and you will be successful.
Yet where we miss the boat is that when we commit what we are doing to the Lord, we should have already had a conversation that puts us in partnership with Him. Most times, the visions that we have of where we are headed and what we should be doing are given to us as a blessing from God. These are glimpses into the plans that God has for us.
Remember Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
These dreams or glimpses give us an opportunity to talk with God and to listen for his guidance in how to move forward.
Some of our issues include
1. Commitment phobias - we do not want to commit to God or to others. We want to think that all the blessings that we find are because of our hard work, not because God had steered us there. For many people, commitment means a loss of control versus going into a partnership where fears and triumphs are shared.
2. Control issues - yes we will commit to you Lord, but the moment this starts not going right, I am going to take it back and try to force my will upon it to make it go the way I want.
3. Entitlement - If I committed to God, then He makes it happen and I just reap the benefits.
All of these lead to a lack of success and ultimately anger for why the relationship, work, or project did not succeed. Anger directed most often at the wrong person - God.
We have to strike a delicate balance where we are trusting God as if everything depended on Him, while working as if everything depended on us. James 2:26 As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.
- Seek God's counsel on how/what you should be doing.
- Commit to God in what you are doing.
- Praise Him in the good and the bad, the ups and the downs.
- You will succeed. Success may not look like what you envision it to be, but it will be a success in God's plan for you.
Many blessings to each of you this day. God loves you and so do I.
Pastor Jim
