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Renewable Energyby Steve Cox,
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Do you feel it? I sure do. The scientific description we could use is “entropy”. which I was taught in school means that all things tend towards disorder. In relation to our minds and bodies, it means we lose energy as we age. The Apostle Paul puts it this way: “this world in its present form is passing away” and that all of creation is in “bondage to decay” (1 Corinthians 7:31, Romans 8:21). With each passing decade I can relate more clearly to these truths. It is hard to maintain a strong energy level, over an extended period of time, to obediently accomplish all the Lord desires that we accomplish (Ephesians 2:10). As we begin a new year, I thought it might be beneficial for us to consider where we can realistically obtain the energy to walk rightly with God. To do so, we need an unlimited, or renewable, energy source. Thankfully, our Heavenly Father has provided us with such a resource. First, before we even begin to utilize God’s energy, we need to recognize our natural tendency to rely on our own strength. Paul, speaking of his hardships, says: “this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God” (2 Corinthians 1:9). If we rely on ourselves (e.g. “I can handle this one”), we are not relying on the Lord, and will quite likely fall short. Or what we accomplish in this new year will succeed from our perspective, but it will not glorify God, because we did it by ourselves. It is a pattern repeated hundreds of times in the Bible, and probably hundreds of times in our own lives: we run off to do something for the Lord, in our own strength, and then wonder why we run out of energy before His will is accomplished in our lives. Second, we need to humbly seek God asking for His direction (Psalm 25:4-5) in how to serve Him this year, and ask for His strength to accomplish His will. As some wise Christians have said over the centuries, God is more interested in our hearts, and our dependence on Him, rather than what we can do for the Lord. Start with prayer, in an attitude of humility and dependence, seeking His will, in how to best invest our lives. As He leads us to specific people and needs He wants us to address, we must keep an attitude of dependence on Him, for strength and wisdom, to do and say the right things. Third, we need to understand and apply the biblical truths of I Corinthians 15:10 and Colossians 1:29. “But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.” “To this end I labor, struggling with all his energy, which so powerfully works in me.” Paul tells us that he worked very hard, harder than anyone else, to live obediently to the Lord. But his hard work was only accomplished through God’s energy working in him. Even after being a Christian for many years, I still don’t think I have fully figured out this truth, and how to consistently apply it in my life. I still tend to try and live the Christian life in my own energy. I suspect this truth, of working our absolute hardest for God, while at the same time maintaining a complete dependence on Him, for the energy to accomplish His work, is similar to the biblical teaching on marriage. Biblically, marriage is not a fifty-fifty partnership (e.g. If my wife does her part, then I will do my part). Marriage is a one-hundred-percent commitment of both parties. In the same way, our Father is one hundred percent committed to directing our paths, and supplying all energy needed, to live according to His will. But we are responsible for full commitment to humbly seek and submit to His will, seek His strength, and diligently obey and serve with the energy He graciously provides. It is God who arms me with strength, and aims me in the right direction. Psalm 18:32 You are awesome . . . ; the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Psalm 68:35 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on (your path). Psalm 84:5 Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Psalm 105:4
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