It takes the mighty hand of God to soften our dry, hard clay, to change us, to set us free, indeed. Nothing less can do it.
Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
Philippians 4:4
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 11:6
Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
James 4:7-8
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Proverbs 3:5-6
Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
Proverbs 3:25-26
Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;
Ephesians 5:20
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:
Philippians 1:6
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.
Romans 12:2
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Psalm 23
These precious scriptures (and so many more) were beginning to have an impact in my life and it was such a relief, so reviving, and SO refreshing.
I’m finding that the reward for following Christ is to have victory over my flesh and this world. It’s worth everything. Trading me and this world in for Christ’s mighty hand is SO wonderful and life-changing.
I hope the following is clear enough to encourage you to keep following Christ.
The fear of man, the devil, and pride were keeping me from the freedom Christ had for me.
Finally, I came to the place (really, God allowed me to come to the end of my rope which is always a good thing) in my life where I was ready to apply God’s Word to my everyday situations and circumstances – nothing else I was doing was working. I was finally ready to humble myself under the mighty hand of God – Before that, I was pretty much on my own as far as handling life went. The clay (me) was ready for the Potter’s hand.
Most of the time, we react to life from the way we were raised, the flesh, and the world’s ways. God was wanting to show me that I could react to life differently by applying the Word to every situation I encountered. Little by little, I began to experience God’s mercy, grace, strength, peace and freedom in my spirit and my willingness to follow His Word began to change me on the inside – This change was His reward for my efforts to choose Him every day. I was truly finding that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life.
This is why humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God is so important – Doing so changes us inside in our spirits. We begin to respond to this world with faith and trust in God and really believe that He’s in control while working for our good. It’s such a relief to get to this point. It can be a battle to continue growing in God, but the effort is so worth the liberty He gives us as we remain faithful to apply His Word to life.
Humble yourselves under the mighty (The Name that is ABOVE) hand of God? You betcha. Search as we may, there’s no other way to be set free in life, and no other way to enter His rest. Really!
God bless,
Mark