Silly Efforts Competing with Complete Dependence
Today our guest writer is Cheryl Turnbull. Cheryl has an awesome ministry reaching out to women who serve in ministry. She is a gifted writer, speaker and a wonderful encouragement to all that she crosses her path with.
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As I began preparing for this devotional, I was reminded of reading in Isaiah…
- The Israelites just couldn’t do life right.
- They kept messing up.
- They just didn’t get it.
God provided for them so many times, but they seemed to forget so easily. They wanted to be like everyone else, so they began making their own gods…just like everyone else. They made their own decisions, without consulting God for direction. We read about all they tried to do on their own; then we come to Isaiah 30:15 (Msg),
“…stop your silly efforts…Your strength will come from settling down in complete dependence on me…”
All God is asking of you and me today, is complete dependence on Him. We live in a world that emphasizes independence. I believe that has hurt our relationships with God.
Just like the Israelites, we try to be like the world around us. We may look at people and have a desire to be more like them. We may wish our personality was more like our friends personality. We may look at other families and wish our family was like theirs. That is not how God intends for us to live.
We are each made uniquely. God created us exactly the way He wanted. Daily we are to take shape as a temple in which God feels quite at home.
Eph. 2:22 (Msg) He wants our total commitment: our total trust, our complete dependence on Him, in everything we do.
If we could only do this right, we would take a ton of pressure off our lives. As we completely depend on Him, He will help us be who He wants us to be. Our personalities, families, relationships and our dreams will reflect Christ in us.
As you go throughout your day, stop the silly efforts and depend on God.
Living Life to the Full,
Cheryl Turnbull
www.mentoringwomeninministry.blogspot.com
http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/mentoring_women_in_ministry_37987/
Beautifully said dear one.
Love it! Love the Message translation of that verse!
Thanks, Sue
Cheryl, thank you for guest writing today. What a great Word of encouragement for us today! -Blessings, Laurie
Very inspiring….really spoke to my heart!
Thank you, Cheryl. This was very encouraging to me.
Hi Cheryl,
Such wise advice to fully depend on Him. We try so hard sometimes but things would be much easier if we depended on Him instead of trying to do it our way.
Cheryl,
Such a great word! I love the message translation of that verse as well!
You are so right, Cheryl. I sometimes think “Oh, I wish I would be just like her…” But I know that He has made me unique and has a purpose for me. May my thoughts and flesh follow His directions…
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us here at LWG.
Cheryl, thank you for this devotional today. What a great reminder of our need for total dependence on Him. We cannot do this life on our own. My flesh gets in the way at times and I need to remember to allow Him to work in and through me. And I need to get out of the way.
So glad you wrote this guest devo.
Blessings,
Debbie