DEPEND ON GOD COMPLETELY

“And it came to pass, that when the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace and a burning lamp that passed between those pieces.” (Genesis 15:17 KJV)

A smoking furnace, representing God, and a burning lamp, representing Jesus, walked through the sacrifice. God, understanding the fallibility and limitations of man, did not want to have any arrangement with man that would be reliant on man’s ability, or require his contribution. To avoid this, God put Abram to sleep. In other words, “Abram, go to bed, you have no part to play in this!”
This is very important, because as seen through scripture, God’s default way of relating with man, was always on the basis of His grace – unmerited, unearned favour. Sadly, we have a clientele of believers who always want to earn from God; they want to ‘deserve’ God’s blessings based on what they have done – how devoted they are, how much they have given, etc., thinking that it can impress God, or qualify them to receive from God, any more than the next person.

You hear statements like, “With all my giving and commitment, Lord, you have not blessed me.”, as though God owes them anything. Beloved, God does not owe you anything. I have said it many times but for the purpose of this, believers must understand that whatever it is that we do “for” God, is actually not for God, but for ourselves. The depth of your devotion in prayers, worship, giving, commitment in service, etc., none of these things make God any more glorious than He already is. With or without you doing these things, He is God and nothing can change that.

So, if you are doing those things for God to bless you, the Bible calls them ‘dead works.’ However, if you are doing them because you appreciate what He has done for you in Christ, then you can be blessed. Sadly, I see many Christians making sacrifices all in an attempt to get God to do something for them. Your sacrifice is dead works and cannot suffice, because Jesus has made the ultimate sacrifice. If you pray, give, sing, or serve because you appreciate that but for His grace, your life would be non-existent or at best without meaning, then it will amount to something before God.

One of the greatest abilities God gave to man, is the ability to unlearn and relearn, and with the depth of insight from God’s word in this day and age, I’m particularly excited to see some age-long traditions that were etched in deep-rooted religiosity and self-efforts are gradually giving way to the truth of the Gospel of God’s grace. In this dispensation of Grace, we quickly learn that all our self-efforts to please Him, and earn His benefits, are filthy rags. God does not want you to do for Him. He wants you to recognize and depend completely on what He has done for you in Christ. Everything you want has been paid for; Christ’s sacrifice is more than sufficient. Depend on it.

Further Reading: Genesis 15:1-21
Daily Bible Reading: Morning- 1 Chronicles 28-29; Evening- John 9:24-41