"I
THOUGHT"
Before
his conversion, Paul said of himself: "I verily thought within
myself, that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of
Jesus of Nazareth"-Acts 26:9.
This is the very same problem that many people have today. They
shut their minds to the truth and think that their ideas will
be just as well as that spoken by God. They think that they will
be fine, doing their own thing. But, like Paul, they are mistaken.
In matters of religion, we "walk by faith (2 Corinthians
5:7), not by sight."
The way a man thinks is many times contrary to the way of Christ.
God declared: "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither
are my ways your ways"-Isaiah 55:8,9. Too many of us determine
that we will do our own thing. We want to please self. Herein
is the gave mistake we so often make. Walking by true faith means
that we accept God at his word and do what He says.
Remember Naaman? He said: "Behold, I thought, he will surely
come and strike his hand over the place, and recover the leper"-2
Kings 5:11. Naaman was a leper. He had been told by the man of
God to go to the Jordan River and dip himself seven times...but,
this did not please him. He went away in a rage. But, his servant
came to him and reasoned: "Sir, if he had bidden you to do
some great thing you would have done it. How much more when he
says to dip thyself". See, the servant was right. Once we
take self out of the equation and just do what God says...blessings
flow into our lives.
The purpose of our obedience is not just for salvation...but,
to help us cultivate a sense of dependence on God. The pride of
Pharaoh, caused him to say, "Who is the Lord, that I should
obey his voice?" This same sense of self-sufficiency has
always led to man's downfall.
