Caution: human wisdom at work
As we have been talking about obedience and its importance to God, let’s talk about one roadblock that interferes with true obedience. Have you ever taken a multiple-choice exam, narrowed the choices to two possible answers, and still picked wrong? Even worse, have you ever circled the right answer only to talk yourself into changing your response at the last moment? This is evidence enough of the limitations of human understanding. If we work hard enough, we can talk ourselves into and out of any situation. As long as something “makes sense” in our minds, we are willing to move forward. The first roadblock to obedience is our human logic. It can prove to be detrimental to our ability to obey God, especially given His tendency to give commands that defy logic. I mean, we are talking about the God who told Peter to walk on water. That literally makes no sense. Abram and Sarai are perfect examples of the way we sometimes compensate for what we don’t understand. Due to their age, it was hard for this couple to truly believe that God could keep his word and give them a son. After waiting a little while and not seeing results, Sarai offered her servant Hagar to be a surrogate mother. Pause. Have you ever felt inadequate for what God spoke over you and tried to give the dream to someone else to carry? You didn’t think you were qualified so you passed it to someone you thought was better? Guess what, God fully knew you and what you were capable of, and He said what he said!
The result of Sarai and Abram’s reliance on their own wisdom was a child born outside of the perfect will of God. What relationship, job, business deal have you birthed outside of God’s perfect will? Instead of trying to compensate for the scary things God calls us to with our own logic, He wants us to surrender our doubts and fears, trading them for complete dependence on His timing and power to bring it to pass. It doesn’t have to make sense for you to obey. In this season, let’s declare “Lord, I don’t know how but if you send me, I’ll go.”
Prayer:
God, sometimes I forget that your mind goes way beyond how I think. When it doesn’t make sense to me, I struggle to follow what you tell me. I know that when I act in my own wisdom, I can still pick wrong. I want to trust that you know what’s best. Today I surrender to your wisdom. I love you more than my own wisdom. In Jesus’ name, amen.
