Many people believe that somehow God is responsible for the way you and I live our Christian life. Some people even believe that it is God who chooses who is going to be saved. They believe that it is God who chooses who is going to heaven, and who is going to hell.
That is not my experience. My experience is that I called upon God and asked Him to help me, and God entered my life through the power of His Holy Spirit and He changed me. It was very simple, I cried out to God for help and God saved me.
It’s just like the Bible says:
“Everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved.”
“And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
“But everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,”
We read the same thing in different parts of the Bible. We know that Word of God is true.
I am not sure where we as Christians got the idea that somehow it is God’s responsibility to help us lead a good, blessed Christian life without any work on own end.
Many times God does do miraculous things out of the blue, but usually we are the ones who have to work hard and God bless what we do.
Listen to this. My wife and I have been married now a whopping 28 years. Wow! That’s a long time. We have 9 children and were just blessed with our first grandchild. So we’ve been around for sometime now. And in this last year alone we have visited 2 psychologists and 1 marriage counsellor. And we are going to see our marriage counsellor again this Monday so my wife and I can learn how to talk to each other so that we can plan things to get down around the house without arguing or getting mad at each other.
Solomon said:
“My child, listen to what I say,
and treasure my commands.
Tune your ears to wisdom,
and concentrate on understanding.
Cry out for insight,
and ask for understanding.
Search for them as you would for silver;
seek them like hidden treasures.
Then you will understand what it means to fear the Lord,
and you will gain knowledge of God.
For the Lord grants wisdom!”
But we are the one who have to do the digging. Finding hidden treasure is not easy. First you have to find out where it is. Then you have to get there. Then you have dig for it. Then you have to make sure the robbers don’t take it away. Then you have to take it home and keep it. And you have to treasure it in your heart.
So remember and learn my dear brothers and sisters in the Lord. It is up to us to ask God to bless us. Do you want God to bless you? Then ask Him. Ask him on your knees with tears pouring out your eyes. Ask Him in the pain of losing a loved one or when you are in a terrible situation.
Jesus said:
“Ask and you will receive.”
James said:
“You don’t have something because you don’t ask for.”
And I say, so if you want something, ask for it. Then get ready for God to miraculously bless you, or show you the hard work you will have to go through to get it.
It says in Isaiah 66:
“they have chosen their own ways,
…. I called, but no one answered;
I spoke, but they did not listen.
And they did evil in My sight
And chose that in which I did not delight.”
Hear the word of the Lord, you who tremble at His word:”
It says in Jeremiah 4:
This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:
“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
Do not waste your good seed among thorns.
O people of Judah and Jerusalem,
surrender your pride and power.
Change your hearts before the Lord,
or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire
because of all your sins.”
These are the things we have to do. We have to plow up the hard ground in our hearts. We have to surrender our power and our pride. We have to change our hearts.
And all this time many of are waiting for God to do it for you.
That’s why it says in 1 Peter 5:6
“So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor.”
We have to humble ourselves. We have to dig for wisdom like we are digging for hidden treasure. We have to change our hearts. We have to call upon the name of the Lord to be saved. May the Lord bless you as you do these things in your life.