A Face of Flint…
Posted by Chad 03 11th, 2008
“Loving God does not transform a person’s life; a person is transformed by renewing his or her mind to the Word of God. Loving God is important and necessary, but an experiential love for God apart from His Word will not change you.”
Robb Thompson
Many times God asks of us to surrender our right in making the final decision in a given circumstance. The choice that we make in that circumstance will be an indicator of our love for God versus our love for ourself. The choice of obeying God has never been promised to be easy. One thing is for sure, God’s faithfulness to us will not change though the decision may mean hardship or takes us away from what we are familiar with. For He has always been faithful and will continue to be faithful. Lam. 3:20-21
This is something that I recognize is lacking in my life. If God has called me to something, will He not faithfully be there for me all the time? I love the saying,
“The Will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.”
Whoever wrote that had a correct perspective on God’s providential care for His children in the things that He has called them to do.
Most of these thoughts have been running through my mind for the past couple of months. There was a decision that I had to make that I did not want to face. In my heart of hearts I knew what I truly wanted to do, and I knew what God’s direction for me was…and I did not want to obey. I reserved for myself the right to make the final decision.
God’s love, however, was not going to leave me there. I asked God if He would give me an affirmation through His Word to give me a course of direction of which I already knew deep inside His answer…in this case, it was the harder thing to do.
In God’s abundant mercy and faithfulness towards me, though my hard heart was set upon doing my own will, He answered that prayer. Half a week or so later, while loading a van with flattened card board, I happened to glance over at a small stack of heating and cooling units used for individual rooms. Sticking out of the top of the units was a small piece of paper. I pulled it out of the unit and opened it up. On it was written the paraphrased verses of Isaiah 50:5,7.
“The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back…For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”
This turned into a Rhema of confirmation from the Lord to do what He was asking me to do. Though it was going to be difficult, I could set my face as flint to do HIS will…not my own. I was then convicted of my own petty faith and my heart of iniquity (self-will). I pray that God would give me more of a heart to love Him, but more importantly, not just a heart to love Him, but a heart that desires to be transformed by His Word. Oh that I would have such a transformation daily, that I may be more like my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Rom. 12:1,2
“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” Isa. 55:8,9
Chad
Priase God! He is so faithful! May God give you the delight in His will that He has! May the doing of His will be your food and the death of the flesh be your life, because you have been baptised into His death! Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity.
[...] for the future. For me to question His faithfulness would be to doubt His very character. Over a year ago, God gave me a verse in Isaiah that challenged me to trust in Him for the grace and strength that I [...]