For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. - 1 Peter 2:19, NIV
The source of strength during suffering is not automatic unless our faith in God is acquired and matured beforehand. He provides the ability to resist but we must be relying on Him. Are you relying today?
His grace gives me every breath, every day, we rely on Him daily without even knowing it. Seeking Him and seeking to know Him is relying on Him, every day. Psalm 63.
ReplyDelete"Hmm. A bit puzzled I am," Yoda would say. If I'm "seeking Him and seeking to know Him," how can I do it "without even knowing it"? Seeking is an active verb.
ReplyDeletePerhaps we should seek so much it seems like it's kind of natural; second nature. Is that humanly possible or is that sinless perfectionism-ish?
My mind wanders...
That is what Paul says in Phillipians, "...forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead," we are to seek Him, it is all in the seeking, He does the rest of His work in us as we "earnestly seek Him." The only thing that is humanly possible is earnest seeking and forgetting what lies behind, we can't be sinless because of our nature, the perfectionism is Him perfecting His work in us, by being totally surrendered and totally obedient to Him. It takes a life time of struggle now, but we've got eternity with Him.
ReplyDeleteEd, your favorite verse, Phillipians 3:14 says it all, "...pressing on toward the goal for the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." There is nothing else, period. Relying on Him becomes "automatic" when "pressing on" to seek Him and His upward call in Christ Jesus. It's all about Christ Jesus and His perfection in us.